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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Video game publisher GSC Game World has yanked plans to launch NFTs for its S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 title. </li><li>The company reversed course after receiving backlash from gaming fans. </li></ul>GSC Game World has pulled its plan to create non-fungible tokens for its S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 video game, responding to heavy pushback by gaming fans. The Ukrainian video game developer had planned to partner with DMarket to launch NFTs for its "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. <keyword id="11121339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="metaverse" source="Orion">Metaverse</keyword>" title, saying in a press release this week it would use blockchain technology to let the community own a piece of "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2." The plan included the game having its own "metaverse" in which players can move as a "metahuman" with an <keyword id="11919795" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft" source="Orion">NFT</keyword> in the form of a non-player character, or NPC. But the company eventually stepped away from its plans. "We hear you," wrote GSC Game World, in a <a href="https://twitter.com/stalker_thegame?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1471620399997886472%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ign.com%2Farticles%2Fstalker-2-nfts-response">post on its Twitter account</a>. "Based on the feedback we received, we've made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in STALKER 2," it said, adding that the interest of its fans and players is its priority. Gamers in social media platforms such as the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/stalker/">Stalker subreddit </a>and on gaming-news platforms pushed back on GSC's plan as well as on NFTs created for games in general. They cited issues like environmental concerns related to mining digital tokens tied to NFTs and the notion of creating value out of artificial scarcity. The controversy follows <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ubisoft-nfts-video-game-major-company-tom-clancy-ghost-recon-2021-12">gaming giant Ubisoft's</a> announcement earlier this month to create the first-ever playable NFTs that users can collect and apply as in-game cosmetics. But it, too, quickly received backlash from gamers.For its part, GSC initially touted its NFT plan as a way to "give certain fans an opportunity to get into the game without interfering with other players' experience," according to <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/stalker-2-nfts-response?utm_source=twitter">a previous statement</a> that was reportedly deleted. GSC continued: "That's why the tokens are entirely optional and have no impact on gameplay or story (no weapons, quests, locations, etc) and can be activated only before the game release [date]."

The maker of a popular video game series is dropping plans for NFTs after outcry from fans

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12690798" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ubisoft" source="Orion">Ubisoft</keyword> said it is releasing the first playable, energy-efficient <keyword id="11901075" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nfts" source="Orion">NFTs</keyword> in a video game.</li><li>PC players will have access to the NFTs, called Digits, this week when Ubisoft begins beta testing with Ghost Recon: Breakpoint.</li></ul>Ubisoft is breaking ground in the video game industry with the first-ever playable NFTs that users can collect and apply as in-game cosmetics. The gaming giant <a href="https://quartz.ubisoft.com/welcome/">announced</a> the new feature Tuesday, and said the NFTs, which Ubisoft calls Digits, will be the first non-fungible tokens "playable in an AAA game." On December 9, Ubisoft will beta launch its Digits for the PC version of "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint."To manage and distribute its playable NFTs, the company will launch Ubisoft Quartz. Players can acquire Digits on Ubisoft Quarts and then use them in <keyword id="11930905" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="video-games" source="Orion">video games</keyword> in various ways. Digits can be video game helmets, pants, guns — all with unique serial numbers. Digits, according to the publisher, will be released in limited editions and each will be tied to the player names of all its previous and current owners. Owners will be able to sell these cosmetic gaming items on third-party marketplaces for cryptocurrency.As part of the announcement, Ubisoft also said it wants the NFTs exclusively for Ubisoft players. To qualify, users must have reached a certain level in the "Ghost Recon" video game. To acquire the NFT pants, for example, players must have played at least 100 hours."The idea is to focus on our most engaged players with this first batch," said Ubisoft's Blockchain Business and Product Director, Baptiste Chardon. Rather than a Proof-of-Work protocol, which bitcoin uses, Ubisoft's Digits are stored on the Proof-of-Stake blockchain Tezos. This is a more <a href="https://quartz.ubisoft.com/faq/technology/what-technology-powers-ubisoft-quartz">environmentally-friendly alternative for NFTs</a>, according to the company. Ubisoft reported $2.5 billion in revenues in its most recent fiscal year.

Ubisoft becomes the first major video game developer to launch in-game NFTs

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?postID=638fac36186a0b25e9553f99&amp;site=in&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Ftv.apple.com%2Fus%2Fshow%2Fmythic-quest%2Fumc.cmc.1nfdfd5zlk05fo1bwwetzldy3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">"Mythic Quest"</a> season three tackles the controversial subject of NFTs in the video game world. </li><li>Several characters launch an NFT project much to the chagrin of its players. </li></ul>In its third season, the Apple TV+ video game workplace comedy series "Mythic Quest" tackles one of the gaming industry's most controversial topics: NFTs. NFTs — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/nft-meaning">non-fungible tokens</a>, digital assets recorded and stored on the blockchain — are collectibles that in some cases have been sold for millions, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/nft-meaning">Insider previously reported</a>. While they're a hot topic in the art world, NFTs have been introduced in the form of in-game cosmetics, as in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/20/cash-grab-or-innovation-the-video-game-world-is-divided-over-nfts.html">Ubisoft's "Ghost Recon Breakpoint,"</a> or as digital assets bundled with real-world action figures, like those <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/20/23271832/square-enix-nft-final-fantasy-vii-enjin-blockchain">Square Enix announced in June. </a>NFTs have generated backlash due to their environmental impact: per <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/climate/nft-climate-change.html">the New York Times</a> — the average NFT generates as much carbon as a 500-mile car drive — and the <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/non-fungible-tokens-gaming?utm_campaign=post-teaser&amp;utm_content=3jvrh6o8">general sense that the whole thing is one big grift.</a> NFT announcements in the gaming world tend to draw strong negative reactions, and yet company leaders continue pushing them. That tension is exactly what "Mythic Quest" tackles in season three. <h2>'Mythic Quest' frames an NFT initiative as a shameless cash grab</h2>In season three of the show, Carol (Naomi Ekperigin), the Head of HR-turned-underfunded Head of Diversity and Inclusion (HODI) at Mythic Quest (the game), turns to Brad (Danny Pudi), the game's former Head of Monetization, to help her generate cash for the game so that she can bring new faces into the company and effect change. <div type="image" title="naomi ekperigin in mythic quest as carol. she's wearing a blue, long-sleeve blouse, her hair styled straight to lay over her shoulders. she's smiling in a warmly lit room while sitting at her desk, a macbook open in front of her" height="1915" width="2554" msid="96063596" hostid="261"></div>Their answer? Launching NFTs, much to the horror of the game's ineffably cheerful community manager Sue Gorgon (Caitlin McGee), who's responsible for interfacing with players online. "NFT, huh?" Gorgon says. "Hey, I got an NFT for ya. No fuckin' thanks."When Carol and Brad's plan generates plenty of hate but not nearly enough revenue, they enlist former quality tester Rachel (Ashly Burch) for her insight into players given that she is one. The walls come crashing down when executive producer David Brittlesbee (David Hornsby) receives a call from the company's bosses in Montréal who demand to know who's responsible for the project. Carol takes responsibility, thinking she's going to be fired, and instead gets promoted to the Director of Unexplored Development Initiatives — a position with stock options and, more importantly, a hiring budget. <h2>Producers saw the inherent humor in an NFT storyline</h2>"Mythic Quest's" NFT storyline derives its humor from both the contorted premise — Carol and Brad overtaxing the game's art team and circumventing its executive producer in the name of getting her the money the studio can't in the name of diversity — and the innate humor of NFTs themselves. Jason Altman, the Head of Film and Television at Ubisoft and an executive producer on "Mythic Quest," told Insider that each year, the writers' room sits down to chat through industry topics. Ultimately, he said that the "real ethos is that everything is on the table," whether or not it concerns or accidentally lampoons Ubisoft itself in the process.When it came to NFTs, they were a topical concern. More importantly, they were funny. "Because it is so controversial and because it's also difficult to understand, it is a gold mine for comedy," Altman said. "That was our thinking." <div type="image" title="ashly burch and danny pudi as rachel and brad in mythic quest. they're standing in a dimly lit room with some computers and desks in it, looking at each other intently. ashly is wearing a black shirt and overalls, her hair in pigtails. danny is in a beige janitorial jumpsuit" height="1915" width="2554" msid="96063598" hostid="261"></div>Ubisoft itself has tangled with NFTs in the past. The developer announced in December 2021 that it was <a href="https://www.polygon.com/22822364/nft-video-games-ubisoft-ghost-recon-breakpoint-free">venturing into NFTs</a>, initially introducing them as in-game cosmetic options — similar to what Ashly proposes in "Mythic Quest" — in "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint." The backlash was swift, with one video that announced the launch on YouTube receiving 31,000 dislikes, <a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-de-lists-overwhelmingly-disliked-nft-announcement-video/">PC Gamer reported</a>. David Hornsby, an executive producer on the show in addition to playing the beleaguered Brittlesbee, told Insider that the show isn't "putting Ubisoft on blast," but rather trying to reflect "the reality of the situation" on the show. "They're only discussions if, 'Hey, what happens with this type of thing? What's the fan reaction if they're just giving us information?'" Hornsby told Insider. "I mean, they wanna portray the video game industry as it is as well. So it's nothing like a personal, 'Well, we'd appreciate if you'd not.'"Ekperigin, who's also in the writers' room in season three, said that the team leaned on the developer to gauge whether NFTs were "really as dark" as they thought. Still, she felt like they "had" to touch on them, even if she worried that they may miss the moment. "Sometimes when you touch on something that's happening, you think, 'Uh oh, what if this is now dated by the time this comes out?'" Ekperigin told Insider. "Nope, not at all."

'Mythic Quest' season 3 tackles the real-world controversy of video game NFTs: 'it is a gold mine for comedy'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12110917" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="white-castle" source="Orion">White Castle</keyword> announced on Twitter it registered a new domain name with the Ethereum Name Service: "whitecastleofficial.eth."</li><li>The restaurant chain also changed its Twitter profile to a "Seahams" NFT. </li></ul>The list of name brands getting into <keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> grows. Fast food chain White Castle announced on <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteCastle/status/1469034170357854217?s=20">Twitter</a> that it registered a domain name with the Ethereum Name Service (ENS): "whitecastleofficial.eth," becoming the latest brand-name entrant to the crypto world.Similar to an internet domain name, an ENS allows people to link crypto wallets or other Web3-related information on the Ethereum blockchain. Users can buy private domains that can replace alphanumeric wallet addresses with a name that is easier to remember or share.On Twitter, the century-old fast food chain also changed its profile picture to a "Seahams" NFT. This year, brand names from <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/luxury-nfts-metaverse-56-billion-market-revenue-2030-morgan-stanley-2021-11">Gucci</a> to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coca-cola-officially-gets-into-nfts-for-charity">Coca-Cola</a> to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ubisoft-nfts-video-game-major-company-tom-clancy-ghost-recon-2021-12">Ubisoft</a> have placed bets on <keyword id="11901075" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nfts" source="Orion">NFTs</keyword> and the <keyword id="11121339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="metaverse" source="Orion">metaverse</keyword>. Investment bank Jefferies predicts <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/metaverse-investing-wall-street-jefferies-land-sales-sandbox-crypto-nfts-2021-12">the metaverse will be the biggest disruption to how we live ever seen</a>, and institutions and retail traders alike have shown their excitement. Last week alone, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/5-best-selling-nft-collections-sales-hit-293-million-2021-12">NFT sales hit $293 million</a>. Shortly after White Castle announced its entry into crypto, Brantly Millegan, director of operations at ENS, <a href="https://twitter.com/BrantlyMillegan/status/1469059197660766217">tweeted out his surprise</a> — adding that he would go buy some White Castle as soon as possible.

White Castle enters the crypto space with ethereum domain name and NFT

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11930688" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ftx" source="Orion">FTX</keyword>'s US arm introduced a $500 fee for users wanting to mint and launch their own NFTs on its digital art marketplace.</li><li>Not long after launching, the <keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> exchange's <keyword id="11919795" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft" source="Orion">NFT</keyword> marketplace was inundated with people posting images of fish.</li><li><keyword id="11930691" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sam-bankman-fried" source="Orion">Sam Bankman-Fried</keyword> later retraced his decision, saying it would cost $10 to mint an NFT.</li></ul>Crypto exchange FTX started charging a $500 fee for people to mint their own non-fungible token on its newly launched native <a href="https://twitter.com/FTX_Official/status/1434755016246452233">NFT marketplace,</a> after being swamped with items including a surfeit of <a href="https://twitter.com/ColdBloodShill/status/1434862797909803014">pictures of fish</a>.The company <a href="https://twitter.com/FTX_Official/status/1434755016246452233">opened</a> the marketplace Monday to allow people to create, display and sell their works directly on the US exchange, as interest in the digital collectibles continues to surge."Make your own NFTs," Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1434750019123523584">tweeted</a>. But within hours, the FTX boss returned to Twitter to say the company has brought in a one-time fee of $500 after receiving a flood of items."Due to the massive number of submissions, too many of which were just a picture of a fish, we are now charging a one-time $500 fee to submit NFTs," Bankman-Fried <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1434861452469456896">wrote</a>. "Hopefully this will reduce spam."But he rewound that decision too, making another attempt to enable affordable NFTs."Now, it costs a flat $10 per NFT to mint them, no up-front cost. We're refunding all the $500's paid. Hopefully this reduces (fish-related) spam while also making it affordable," he <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1434895787167731712">said</a>.For his part, Bankman-Fried's submission - made to demonstrate the new feature - was an image of words that simply reads: "<a href="https://ftx.us/nfts/token/291222296035270197">Text</a>." As of 8:40 a.m. ET on Monday, its highest bid stood at $1,500, with only 16 hours to go.Users don't have to be in the US to use the marketplace, the crypto exchange <a href="https://twitter.com/FTX_Official/status/1434755326708883459">said</a>. Currently, people can only store and view the NFTs on the exchange. But the marketplace will <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1434750019123523584">support</a> deposits and withdrawals within the coming weeks.In his tweets, the FTX boss noted that payments for the NFTs will be cross-chain enabled between <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/eth-usd">ethereum</a> and <keyword id="11931714" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="solana" source="Orion">solana</keyword>. This means the platform will allow trading of tokens across both blockchains, done using smart contracts or applications that can connect with two different chains.Most NFTs so far have been encoded on the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq">ethereum</a> blockchain. By storing the NFT as information on a blockchain, it becomes near impossible to edit or remove it, making it a permanent record of the owner's purchase.With the move, FTX becomes the latest crypto exchange to move into NFT marketplaces. Binance launched its own <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/binance-nft-launch-sales-trading-digital-artwork-non-fungible-tokens-2021-4">NFT marketplace</a> in April, while <a href="https://www.okex.com/academy/en/nft-marketplace-guide">OKEx</a> launched one more recently in September.NFTs have steadily become more mainstream as their value is realized in the broader market, and this trend is expected to continue. NFT sales volumes surged 200% to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/nft-value-sales-h1-dappradar-nonfungible-tokens-crypto-hype-2021-7">$2.5 billion</a> in the first half of 2021, according to data from DappRadar.Bankman-Fried <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/non-fungible-tokens-nfts-mainstream-buyers-popularity-sam-bankman-fried-2021-8">told CNBC</a> last month that the tokens have become popular faster than people have understood them, and that many don't know what the future for the assets looks like.A range of big players - from artists to DJs, to massive brands like Marvel, Ubisoft, Faze Clan, and Topps - are involved in building NFT projects and strategies. They are using NFT platforms such as OpenSea, Rarible, Autograph, RTFKT and Dapper Labs to accomplish their goals, Ivan Soto-Wright, founder and CEO of crypto payments infrastructure firm MoonPay, told Insider. Soto-Wright said he fully anticipates NFTs to develop further beyond digital, and into real-life use cases such as providing proof of ownership for properties and tickets for events.Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/eth-price-prediction-target-crypto-outlook-ether-bitcoin-commodity-strategist-2021-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A senior commodity strategist lays out the increasingly bullish signs that point towards ether hitting $5,000 - and why this gives him confidence in bitcoin reaching $100,000</a>

Crypto exchange FTX quickly starts charging users $500 to mint their own NFTs after being spammed with images of fish

Welcome to <keyword id="11937554" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="10-things" source="Orion">10 Things</keyword> Before the Opening Bell.If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/10-things-opening-bell">sign up here.</a> Plus, download Insider's app for news on the go – <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id554260576?pt=385758&amp;ct=06292021_newsletters&amp;mt=8">click here for iOS</a> and<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.freerange360.mpp.businessinsider"> here for Android</a>.Let's jump in. 1. Experts sound off on the metaverse as the virtual land rush heats up. Swelling valuations of virtual plots of land reflect big plans for the metaverse, and one exec <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-land-sales-valuations-republic-realm-metaverse-group-crypto-2021-12">likened it to "buying on 5th Avenue back in the 1800s."</a> <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/cryptocurrency-predictions-2022-metaverse-nft-bitcoin-ether-gaming-cbdc-hack-2021-12">Experts have major predictions for the sector.</a> The CEO of crypto startup Meow says a major company could declare their official headquarters to be on a metaverse. The chief revenue officer of a DeFi platform predicts most people will operate day-to-day jobs partially in the metaverse.A co-founder of The Sandbox — a blockchain-based decentralized metaverse — told Insider <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/metaverse-the-sandbox-virtual-world-land-sales-decentraland-nfts-crypto-2021-12">the metaverse will usher in a whole new economy</a>, driven by huge property transactions. The "sand" cryptocurrency used on the platform is up 9,000% on the year.Here's a few of the recent splashes from across the virtual world:<ul><li>The priciest land deal so far is Republic Realm's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-property-sandbox-virtual-real-estate-deal-record-4-million-2021-11?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">$4.3 million purchase in The Sandbox metaverse last month</a>.</li><li>A music service whose crypto token has shot up 932% this year <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/audius-nft-radio-station-token-defi-gaming-music-streaming-service-2021-12">is putting an FM radio tower on a DeFi gaming platform</a>.</li><li>Ubisoft launched in-game NFTs — <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ubisoft-nfts-video-game-major-company-tom-clancy-ghost-recon-2021-12">the first playable, energy-efficient NFTs in a game produced by a major developer</a></li></ul>2. Stocks are upbeat as focus turns to the Fed in a week of central bank meetings. Investors expect Powell &amp; Co. to bring in a faster pace of tapering Wednesday, to lead out a policy decisions from Europe, the UK and Japan. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-today-fed-reserve-december-policy-decision-inflation-omicron-2021-12">Here are the latest moves on the market</a>.3. Tyler Hobbs' Fidenza NFT collection notched over $177 million in secondary sales from buyers, including Snoop Dogg. The former software engineer turned generative artist employs algorithms to create his masterpieces for the blockchain. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-ethereum-how-to-make-nft-art-fidenza-tyler-hobbs-2021-12">He broke down his creation process, and shared how he values his artwork.</a>4. On the docket: Claros Mortgage Trust, Toell Co, and Fit Inc, all <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar">reporting.</a>5. A dot-com style unwind of big tech stocks will follow a Fed rate hike, according to Bank of America. BofA's Michael Hartnett expects interest rates to rise by 0.50% in March 2022, ahead of consensus — <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-sell-dot-com-bubble-unwind-rate-hikes-2021-12">the bank warned investors should sell now before the looming crash.</a>6. Crypto firms have reportedly spent $5 million lobbying US legislators in the first three quarters of 2021. The lobbying blitz, per the Economist, has arrived ahead of potential regulations for the cryptocurrency market, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-companies-lobbying-congress-regulation-cryptocurrency-2021-12">which now has a market valuation of over $2.2 trillion.</a>7. Young investors are putting their portfolio performance over their well-being. A new survey found that millennial and Gen Z investors will make risky investments even if it takes a toll on their mental health. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/gen-z-millennial-investors-risk-tolerance-stocks-retail-traders-covid-2021-12">Here's what experts had to say about the study.</a>8. Forget gift cards — consider buying someone a unique piece of digital art. An NFT could be both valuable and sentimental, said Kosala Hemachandra, the cofounder of MyEtherWaller. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/how-to-give-someone-an-nft-crypto-for-holidays-christmas-2021-12">Here's how to buy someone an NFT this holiday season. </a>9. JPMorgan <keyword id="11893875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets" source="Orion">markets</keyword> guru Marko Kolanovic shared his 20 global ideas for investors to maximize returns in 2022. The firm's quant-research chief remains bullish on stocks going into the new year, especially those outside the US. Kolanovic shared why he expects a "risk on" year — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-investing-strategy-jpmorgan-jpm-marko-kolanovic-quant-2021-12">and why he thinks "pandemic winners" will fade. </a>10. A former top trading Citigroup exec explained why he left Wall Street to start his own crypto firm. Having already raised $1.5 billion for his crypto venture, Matt Zhang is seeking to build a "start-t0-finish-capital solution." He explained what sets his firm apart from others <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-investing-strategies-citigroup-trading-executive-gamefi-staking-hivemind-capital-2021-12">and broke down the four strategies his firm will pursue.</a>Compiled by Phil Rosen. Feedback? Email <a href="mailto:prosen@insider.com">prosen@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/philrosenn">@philrosenn</a>.Sign up for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter">more Insider newsletters here</a>.

10 things before the opening bell

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In late October, <keyword id="6354576" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook" source="Orion">Facebook</keyword> made a huge announcement: It was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-new-name-meta-rebrand-metaverse-zuckerberg-apps-2021-10">changing the company name</a> to "<keyword id="399907" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword>."</li><li>The reason, according to CEO <keyword id="6354630" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="mark-zuckerberg" source="Orion">Mark Zuckerberg</keyword>, was to refocus the company around "<keyword id="12521699" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-metaverse" source="Orion">the metaverse</keyword>."</li></ul>Late last October, Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a huge announcement: Going forward, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-new-name-meta-rebrand-metaverse-zuckerberg-apps-2021-10">the company would be known as "Meta."</a> That parent company would still encompass the same portfolio of brands that it did before: Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, and Oculus, albeit with a new intent: "to help bring the metaverse to life," he said. It was Zuckerberg sticking a stake in the ground: He believes in the "metaverse" concept so much that he's betting the company on it. That move had major repercussions. In the months since, hype for "the metaverse" and its corollaries — NFTs, blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and other <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-web3-internet-blockchain-cryptocurrency-web1-web2-future-2021-12">so-called "Web3" concepts</a> — has skyrocketed. First, it was the analysts. The metaverse has, "the potential to disrupt almost everything in human life," analysts at Jefferies, led by equity strategist Simon Powell, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/metaverse-investing-wall-street-jefferies-land-sales-sandbox-crypto-nfts-2021-12">said in a December note</a>. Bloomberg Intelligence <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/blog/metaverse-may-be-800-billion-market-next-tech-platform/">described the metaverse as</a> an "$800 billion market opportunity." Then came the big publicly-traded video game publishers. Major <keyword id="6357332" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="gaming" source="Orion">gaming</keyword> companies, including "Assassin's Creed" maker Ubisoft and "Final Fantasy" maker Square Enix, have announced new Web3 initiatives: The former introduced NFTs and a crypto-based payment system, while the latter <a href="https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/2022/html/a_new_years_letter_from_the_president_2.html">declared 2021 to be</a> "the metaverse year" and announced a big push into the emerging sector in 2022. They were all following Zuckerberg's lead. He's repeatedly claimed that the metaverse is the successor to the current mobile internet, and he wants to make sure that Meta is a major player in whatever comes next. In the October video presentation introducing Meta, Zuckerberg also demonstrated what the future metaverse might look like and how it could work. The video depicted a world where people jump in and out of a 3D virtual space, like those in "The Matrix" and "Ready Player One." <div type="image" title="An image of &quot;the metaverse&quot; depicted in an October 2021 video from Facebook parent company Meta." height="913" width="1920" msid="88794455" hostid="261"></div>The digital space was made by "a creator I met in LA," one of the floating avatars tells Zuckerberg. At one point during the conversation, Zuckerberg's avatar pulls up a digital, 2D video chat to connect to a friend who was supposed to join them. She's out in the real world, being a person, and unable to join, but she wanted to show off a piece of AR art she's seen IRL. The whole thing seems like it could've happened over FaceTime or Zoom or any various pieces of technology we already use. Some avatars look realistic to the person they represent, while others are total abstractions (like the large robot seen above). Rather than participating in a game, everyone is essentially hanging out in a three-dimensional chat room — something more akin to "Second Life" or PlayStation Home than, say, "Fortnite." It's unclear how anyone in the demo is connecting to the space, or interacting with it, but it appears to be VR headsets — a crucial component of Zuckerberg's vision for the metaverse that also serves as a business opportunity given <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/meta-stock-price-oculus-app-tops-apple-app-store-christmas-2021-12">Meta's success with the Oculus Quest line of VR headsets</a>. In one sense, it's a vision of a future world that takes many long-existing concepts, like shared online worlds and digital avatars, and combines them with recently emerging trends, like digital art ownership through NFT technology and digital "tipping" for creators. In another sense, it's a vision that takes our existing reality — where you can already hang out in 2D or 3D virtual chat rooms with friends who are or are not using VR headsets — and tacks on more opportunities for monetization and advertising. Someone's going to sell the hardware to access this future, and someone's going to create the software that popularizes it, and Zuckerberg is making it clear that he wants Meta to be a leader on both fronts. It's no surprise, then, that the gold rush is on from investors and companies in the tech world: Meta's video, and Zuckerberg's commitment to "the metaverse," successfully convinced them that it's the next golden goose. Got a tip? Contact Insider senior correspondent Ben Gilbert via email (<a href="mailto:bgilbert@insider.com">bgilbert@insider.com</a>), or Twitter DM (<a href="https://twitter.com/RealBenGilbert">@realbengilbert</a>). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by email only, please.

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