Welcome back to V3RSD and thank you for being here! This is Subnation’s weekly roundup of relevant, interesting, and hard-hitting stories from the web3, gaming, and tech spaces. The following five articles cover the topics from our 5Cs: Culture, Content, Community, Conversation, and Commerce. Enjoy, and let us know what you think by leaving a comment!
Puma and Roc Nation are joining together to release “The Evolution of the Mixtape.” This phygital sneaker collection celebrates the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Every IRL sneaker has an NFC chip in the tongue that unlocks a special bundle of digital content.
While television and film strikes continue in Hollywood, one company releases a paper on “Generative TV & Showrunner Agents,” with a fully AI-created South Park episode. Said company claims that the timing is perfect to show that AI should not replace striking workers.
Activision Blizzard’s esports department went through layoffs, leaving the future of the Overwatch League in question. Team owners will be voting on the future of the League later this year.
Earlier this week Elon Musk declared that Twitter’s product name would be changed to “X,” and that he is getting rid of the bird logo with all the associated words including “tweet.” Musk’s move wiped out somewhere between $4 and $20 billion in brand value, according to analysts and brand agencies.
Crunchbase has released a devastating new report. In 2022 web3 startup funding reached as high as $16 billion. During the same time period in 2023, $3.6 billion was raised for those same types of companies. That’s a 76% decrease in funds. What impact will this have on the future of web3?
If you’re interested in learning more on any of these topics, you can read the full articles below.
CULTURE
Puma, Roc Nation Celebrate Hip-Hop With Phygital Sneaker Drop
NFT Now — In a fusion of fashion, music, and blockchain technology, NFT firm Legitimate has entered a partnership with Puma and Roc Nation for the release of a unique sneaker collection. Dubbed the Evolution of the Mixtape, the collection is a celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, and promises buyers access to exclusive music content from Roc Nation.
The collection includes three sneaker models: Cassette Tape, Playlist, and Disc. Part of what makes these sneakers unique is an embedded near-field communication (NFC) chip, called the LGT Tag, located in the shoe’s tongue. By scanning this chip, owners will unlock a digital portal showcasing weekly mixtapes, never-before-released tracks, and behind-the-scenes content from Roc Nation artists…[cont]
CONTENT
Maybe showing off an AI-generated fake TV episode during a writers’ strike is a bad idea
Tech Crunch — The ongoing strike of creatives in TV and film, plus the nascent threat of AI-based writing and effects, make it a complicated time to work in show business. But little savvy is required to see that this may be the worst possible moment to soft-launch an AI that can “write, animate, direct, voice, edit” a whole TV show — and demonstrate it with a whole fake “South Park” episode.
The company behind it, Fable Studios, announced via tweet that it had made public a paper on “Generative TV & Showrunner Agents.” They embedded a full, fake “South Park” episode where Cartman tries to apply deepfake technology to the media industry…[cont]
COMMUNITY
Activision Blizzard lays off esports staff as it faces potential dramatic changes for the Overwatch League
The Verge — Amid the final days of the Activision Blizzard / Microsoft deal, Activision Blizzard is laying off workers in its esports department while also preparing for potentially huge changes coming to the Overwatch League.
Early today, Blizzard released its second quarter earnings report, within which lies the potential fate of the Overwatch League. From the report:
During the second quarter, we amended certain terms of our collaborative arrangements with team entities participating in the Overwatch League. According to the amended terms, following the conclusion of the current Overwatch League season, the teams will vote on an updated operating agreement. If the teams do not vote to continue under an updated operating agreement, a termination fee of $6 million will be payable to each participating team entity (total fee of approximately $114 million)…[cont]
CONVERSATION
Twitter is being rebranded as X
The Verge — X.com now redirects to Twitter.com, following a tweet from Twitter owner Elon Musk today, and an “interim X logo” will soon replace the Twitter bird logo. Leading up to the change, Musk spent a lot of time tweeting about it.
Around 12AM ET last night, he started tweeting — and did so for hours — about the Twitter rebrand to X, the one-letter name he’s used repeatedly in company and product names forever. It started with a tweet saying “soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” followed by a second tweet adding that “if a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow.” [cont]
COMMERCE
VC Funding in Web3 Plummets 76%: Crunchbase Data
CoinDesk — A sobering new report from Crunchbase found that Web3 funding from venture capital (VC) funds has plunged 76% in the second quarter when compared to the same period a year ago.
The numbers don’t improve if you compare the first half of 2023 to the same period in 2022. In 2022, Web3 startups raised nearly $16 billion in the first half of the year, but this year’s fundraises have totaled just $3.6 billion — a 78% drop…[cont]
APPENDIX
- Xbox’s Major Nelson leaves after 20 years
- ChatGPT’s evil twin ‘WormGPT’ is silently entering emails and raiding banks — check Gmail and Outlook for signs now
- Futureverse raises $54M to marry AI and the metaverse
- Solana announces GameShift to ease web3 game dev
- Co:Create Releases Web3 Loyalty App on Shopify
That’s all from us here at Subnation this week. Thank you for joining us for V3RSD! If you’d like this directly in your inbox every Monday, you can sign up HERE.
