Nifty News: Dan Harmon’s NFT show set for season 3, NFT-friendly Square Enix CEO steps down and more…

March 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Square Enix’s NFT-friendly CEO is stepping down, but it may not impact the firm’s NFT plans, while Disney-backed Baobab Studios' first NFT drop sold out ahead of its upcoming RPG game.

Krapopolis, the NFT-affiliated cartoon series from Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon has been renewed for a third season by Fox, despite season one not even airing yet.

The Krapopolis team announced the renewal via Twitter in March. 2, and emphasized that NFT holders can still engage with the show before it airs.

HOLY KRAP! Citizens we just got BIG news that Krapopolis has been renewed for a *third season*. You don’t need to wait for the show to start, you can start participating now by voting, viewing exclusive content, redeeming rewards and more on https://t.co/vQCCep6yyq!

— Krapopolis (,) (@Krapopolis) March 2, 2023

Speaking to Deadline on March. 2, Michael Thorn, Fox’s president of scripted programming noted that “We’re so bullish about the work that we want to support and its ability to find an audience and succeed,” as he emphasized his faith in Harmon. “While [a third season order] is atypical, it was a no-brainer for us with Krapopolis,” he added.

Krapopolis is an animated comedy set in ancient Greece that follows a “flawed family of humans, gods and monsters that try to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.”

The case includes some big names such as Richard Ayode, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy, Duncan Trussell and Hannah Waddingham.

The series is produced by Fox Corp’s NFT firm Blockchain Creative Labs, which also provided the NFT-related elements for the show.

The NFTs themselves are called “Krap Chickens” and depict cartoon chicken avatars in the same style of art as the show. There are 10,420 tokens in total, with some still up for mint at 0.18 Ether (ETH).

Holders are given exclusive access to experiences, content, rewards and voting rights on certain aspects of the show.

Square Enix’s CEO steps down

Square Enix’s NFT-friendly CEO Yosuke Matsuda is stepping down after nearly 10 years at the helm of the firm behind the Fantasy franchise.

In a March notification of company changes, Square Enix outlined that Takashi Kiryu will take over the role of CEO from Matsuda. The move won't officially be finalized until an annual shareholders meeting in May however.

While Web 3 and NFTs weren’t referenced explicitly in the notification, the firm did indicate that it is still looking to push on with new tech integrations, suggesting its blockchain-related plans may remain unhindered.

“Under the rapid change of business environment surrounding the entertainment industry, the proposed change is intended to reshape the management team with the goal of adopting ever-evolving technological innovations and maximizing on the creativity of the Company’s group,” the filing read.

During his time at Square Enix, Matsuda outlined bullish sentiments on Web3 gaming on several occasions.

In a New Year’s letter from Jan. 1 in particular, Matsuda emphasized Square Enix had devoted “aggressive investment and business development efforts” towards the space in 2022, and would continue to do so in 2023.

“Following the excitement and exhilaration that surrounded NFTs and the metaverse in 2021, 2022 was a year of great volatility in the blockchain-related space,” he mentioned in the note, adding that:

“However, if this proves to have been a step in a process that leads to the creation of rules and a more transparent business environment, it will definitely have been for the good of the growth of blockchain entertainment.”

Under Mastuda’s leadership, Square Enix rolled out tokenized Final Fantasy character collectibles in July 2022 and partnered with the Oasys blockchain gaming project in September. In December, the firm also invested $52.7 million into mobile game developer Gumi Games, to help develop mobile-based play-to-earn titles.

Mint Madness

Multi-chain NFT marketplace Magic Eden has launched a “Mint Madness” campaign that offers free access, or “free mints” to 13 Web3 games in March.

Mint Madness went live on March. 3, and the name is a nod to the famous NCAA college basketball tournament dubbed "March Madness" which sees roughly 67 basketball games crammed into the month.

The blockchain games are spread across Polygon, Ethereum and Solana, with nine, three and one apiece respectively. Magic Eden is also offering a 20,000 Polygon (MATIC) prize pool worth roughly $23,200.

Announcing MINT MADNESS: 12+ FREE gaming mints across Polygon, ETH & SOL in March ️

The 10 top traders for our 9+ @0xPolygon mints can win $ from our 20K $MATIC prize pool

Register your Polygon wallet to enter https://t.co/hpXudzuaS1!
Don't forget to follow @MEOnPolygon! pic.twitter.com/KLFTBrnwxZ
— Magic Eden (@MagicEden) March 2, 2023

The prizes will go to the top 10 traders of the NFTs related to nine of the new games based on Polygon, with the top prize fetching 4,500 MATIC ($5,220).

The full list of available games during the promo includes Planet Mojo, Meta Star Strikers, Alaska Gold Rush, Shrapnel, Petobots, Blast Royale, Rogue Nation, Tearing Spaces, Freckle Trivia, Realm Hunter, Legendary: Heroes Unchained, Shrapnel, and Papu Superstars.

Disney-backed studio’s sell-out drop

Nine-time Emmy Award-winning, Disney-backed Baobab Studios sold out its first collection of 8,888 NFTs in just nine hours after launch on March. 2.

The journey begins, we have sold out. pic.twitter.com/letPxGkhUR
— Momoguro (@MomoguroNFT) March 3, 2023

The cartoon avatar-focused drop is called “Momoguro” and is tied to an upcoming role-playing (RPG) game on layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution, Immutable X.

The game itself has breeding elements, along with quests in a world named “Uno Plane,” with NFTs being a key part of the gaming experience.

According to data from CryptoSlam, the NFTs have generated $8.1 million worth of secondary sales to date, with $7.6 million of that coming on the day of launch.

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Layer-1 Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchain Flare welcomed its first NFT platform, after Sparkles went live on March. 2. The platform is set to hone in on the interoperability of native Flare protocols to increase use cases for NFT utility.

On March. 1, Trading platform Robinhood launched its Web3 wallet on Apple’s App Store, becoming available to iOS users in over 130 countries.

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<div>Fox Corporation backs Eluvio's 0M raise as part of its content plan for NFTs</div>

Bento Box

Fox Corporation is diving deeper into the NFT ecosystem with its latest partnership.

U.S. mass media company Fox Corporation has made a strategic investment in digital content management firm Eluvio to help develop Fox’s nonfungible token business.

An announcement on Aug. 25 reported that Fox Corporation's investment marks the completion of Eluvio's Series A funding round at a valuation of $100 million. Eluvio is a company dedicated to managing, distributing and monetizing premium content via blockchain.

Under the new agreement, Eluvio will provide the technology for Fox Entertainment’s and Bento Box Entertainment's recently launched NFT business and creative unit according to the announcement.

In mid-June, Fox partnered with Hollywood animation studio Bento Box to launch Blockchain Creative Labs, a $100 million creative division providing content creators, intellectual property owners, and advertising partners blockchain solutions to build, launch, manage, and sell NFTs.

Eluvio’s Content Fabric open protocol blockchain network has been built for owner-controlled storage, distribution and monetization of digital content at scale. The platform provides live and file-based content publishing in addition to NFT minting backed by smart contracts providing proof of ownership and access control.

Fox and Bento will be leveraging Eluvio’s technology to attract a wider market of content creators, media partners, and advertising clients. It will enable the companies to launch and market new NFT collections linked to popular content and TV shows.

Eluvio’s blockchain has also been praised for its eco-friendliness by avoiding energy-intensive mining and using a more efficient (but less decentralized) proof-of-authority consensus.

Paul Cheesbrough, Chief Technology Officer and President of Digital for Fox Corporation touted the technology:

“At FOX, we believe that the blockchain, and the overall shift towards a more decentralized web, is providing creators with a wealth of opportunities to reach consumers with exciting new experiences.”

CEO of Blockchain Creative Labs and co-founder of Bento Box Entertainment, Scott Greenberg, stated that there is a great opportunity in tokenized media on the blockchain, adding “we will build this business as we together chart the future for the NFT market.”

In May, Fox announced it was teaming up with the Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon on a NFT marketplace for its series Krapoplis, an animated comedy set in mythical ancient Greece.

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Fox has announced a $100 million fund under its NFT firm Blockchain Creative Labs, and is set to launch a range of NFT content, digital goods, and assets.

Rupert Murdoch's mass media company Fox Corp. has launched a $100 million creative fund for NFTs, under the auspices of its ne NFT firm Blockchain Creative Labs.

The NFT division was unveiled last month alongside a new animated comedy series dubbed “Krapopolis” from Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon. The show is set to premiere in 2022, and will be a satirical comedy focused on life in ancient Greece.

Fox says he $100 million in funding will be used to support “content creators, IP owners, and advertising partners end-to-end blockchain computer ecosystem solutions to build, launch, manage and sell NFT content and experiences, and fungible tokens, as well as digital goods and assets.”

Blockchain Creative Labs will also keep a close watch out to identify “growth opportunities” that present themselves in the rapidly evolving NFT space.

Scott Greenberg, the former president and chief operating officer (COO) of independent animation company Film Roman has been named the new CEO of Blockchain Creative Labs and will oversee the unit and the newly formed content fund.

Greenberg oversaw the production of the Simpsons during his time at Film Roman, and currently serves as the CEO to the Bento Box Entertainment studio — a firm he co-founded, which is also a subsidiary of Fox and a partner to Blockchain Creative Labs.

Bento Box has produced the cult favorite animated comedy show Bob’s Burgers, along with other notable series such as Hoops and Central Park.

"Entrepreneurs at our core, FOX and Bento Box are uniquely situated to bring exciting offerings to the digital goods, token and NFT marketplace,” Greenberg said.

As reported by Cointelegraph in May, Blockchain Creative Labs will manage dedicated marketplaces to shows partnered with the firm.

The marketplaces will include content such as NFTs depicting characters and background artwork, GIFs, and tokens that unlock exclusive social experiences for dedicated fans.

It is yet to be revealed which animated series will get its own NFTs via Blockchain Creative Labs, however, there is speculation that a series produced by Bento Box could be likely in light of Greenberg now overseeing both firms.

Long running Fox animated series The Simpsons has also been discussed as a potential option, with the show referencing cryptocurrency on multiple occasions.

In February 2020, a Simpsons episode featured Jim Parsons of Big Bang Theory as a guest star, who explained crypto and how a blockchain works. An episode in April 2021 depicted Marge checking her investment gains after watching a show dubbed “Crazy Cash,” which had Bitcoin displayed next to an infinity symbol on the ticker feed.

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Fox will launch a nonfungible token marketplace for its upcoming animated series, Krapoplis.

Fox Broadcasting Company has teamed up with Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon to develop what they describe as the “first-ever animated series curated entirely on the Blockchain.”

The animated comedy series, dubbed “Krapopolis,” will be launched alongside a dedicated marketplace that will host the sale of tokenized digital goods including nonfungible tokens depicting the characters and artwork featured throughout the show. The show also hopes to reward its most devoted fans with tokens that unlock “exclusive social experiences.”

Alongside the partnership, Fox announced the launch of the new NFT company “Blockchain Creative labs,” which is expected to operate the marketplace for Krapopolis and other shows in the future.

While details are sparse on what exactly “curated entirely on the blockchain” means, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier noted plans to introduce advertising partners to NFTs during a streamed presentation announcing the platform, stating:

“Not to go too far into it today, but as an advertiser-focused, artist-first and animation-obsessed company, Fox is going to take advertisers into the world of blockchain-powered tokens, including NFTs.”

Krapopolis will be produced by Fox-owned Bento Box Entertainment, however, the series holds no reference to crypto as it is set in ancient Greece and focused on a “flawed family of humans, gods and monsters that tries to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.”

Dan Harmon rose to fame for writing and co-creating Community and Rick and Morty — with the animated series Rick and Morty winning Primetime Emmy awards in 2018 and 2020. The series is a loose parody of the popular movie Back To The Future, following the antics of time-traveling scientist Rick and his grandson Morty.

Justin Roiland, the other co-creator of Rick and Morty. has been quick to cash in on the recent NFT mania. In January, Roiland sold an NFT dubbed “The First Ever Edition Of Rick And Morty Cryptoart” for $150,000 through a silent auction on the Gemini-owned NFT platform, Nifty Gateway.

FOX

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