Blue-chip non-expendable token (NFT) project Pudgy Penguins has signed a representation agreement with leading Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME).
According to an announcement via Twitter on May 5, Pudgy Penguins is looking to spread its intellectual property across movies, TV, and games.
Pudgy Penguins joins a growing list of big-name NFT projects that have sought management deals in Hollywood as a way to expand their brands and audiences. WME’s other NFT-related clients include Dapper Labs co-founder Mack Flavelle, the Boss Beauties project, NFT pseudonymous artist FEWOCiOUS, and artist Claire Silver.
Pudgy Penguins is the 21st best-selling NFT project of all time, according to data from CryptoSlam. Since its launch in July 2021, it has generated sales of $250.2 million in secondary markets.
Last month, the project was acquired by Luca Netz of Netz Capital for 750 Ether.
ETH
mark down
$1,873
, worth approximately $2.5 million at the time of purchase on April 3.
Pudgy Penguins has been gradually building a Web3 ecosystem and community around the project and has already made some moves to bring the IP into the mainstream.
In late March, the project released physical Pudgy Penguin figurines with certificates of authenticity and proof of ownership registered on Ethereum.
Bitblox to build Web3 gambling
New blockchain gaming studio Bitblox has launched to create a Web3 gambling suite on the Solana-based Hxro network – a distributed liquidity layer for betting applications and derivatives trading.
The online gambling industry was worth approximately $63.5 billion in 2022 and is estimated to grow by 11.7% per year between 2023 and 2030, according to Grand View Research.
In a May 4 announcement, Bitblox Games stated that it would focus on developing skill- and speed-based player-to-player games, where players bet against each other rather than against the “house,” like in a casino.
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“Blockchain-based gaming brings additional transparency to igaming game operators while giving players the ability to gamble in new and exciting ways,” said Brandt Page, CEO of Bitblox.
The specific games have yet to be announced; however, more information is likely to arrive later this month, with Bitblox set to debut at CasinoBeats Summit 2023 in Malta between May 23-25.
Related: A New Frontier For Collectibles: Preserving Music History In NFT With Legends Of Rock
Generative art through Unreal Engine
NFT ecosystem and infrastructure developer Palm NFT Studio has released a new tool via Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, which enables creators to create “game-ready” generative 3D asset and art collections.
The tool is called “Palm Generative Art Maker”. It provides a streamlined process for people to create generative art and assets, which is often quite difficult for creators who aren’t well versed in coding.
The tool was released on May 4 and is available to download as an Unreal Engine plugin.
Palm generative art creator. Source: Unreal Engine
It allows users to develop a concept in the plugin and then port the assets over to Unreal Engine 5.1 for tweaking and adding final details. From there, they can mint the assets as NFTs on the blockchain.
Interest in generative art has increased alongside the growth of the NFT industry in recent years, with projects based on profile pictures and avatars like CryptoPunks helping to popularize the method. At the same time, NFT art projects like Tyler Hobb’s Fidenza have also sparked interest in the computer-based art style.
Star Wars digital toys in Flow
NFT startup Cryptoys has unveiled the upcoming release of Star Wars digital collectibles on the Flow blockchain, home to major NFT projects like NBA Top Shot.
The NFT collectibles, or “digital toys,” will be released on May 24, and the artwork will be similar in design to the Funko Pop figures. Each token will be priced at $39.99 a piece in a “blind box.” random, and the buyer will not know which character they got until after purchase.
The NFTs will feature characters like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia. They will come in different levels of rarity ranging from common to rare, legendary, “Grail” and “Ultra Grail”.
