No matter where you look, it seems like NFTs are everywhere right now. Since the new year, there's been non-stop attempts to astroturf NFTs into the mainstream, including pricey late-night television endorsements, and unpopular collaborations with media properties. The gaming industry hasn't been spared this fate either, and has actually been one of the crypto community's biggest targets.
Now, we know that this push hasn't come cheap. In 2022 alone, $1.2 billion has been spent on NFT gaming projects through investors donating to private crypto companies. This is despite the widespread consumer dissatisfaction with the practice, to the point where many NFT projects have to be cancelled or scaled back due to the backlash from fans.
This information comes from a financial report courtesy of Drake Star (thanks, Axios), which gives us some industry figures for the first quarter of 2022. It reveals that NFT companies seemingly have no problem getting money from investors, despite the constant bad press.
Admittedly, this is likely because when an NFT game blows up, it's a big moneymaker for backers. Axie Infinity is such a game, although it did recently suffer from a pricey security breach, totalling around $600 million in stolen crypto.
Outside of dedicated NFT games, investors still have some support in the triple-A scene. Square Enix recently reaffirmed its commitment to blockchain games, and Pokemon Go developer Niantic is "looking into" incorporating them in its new game, Peridot. It's not known if they'll be considered for Pokemon Go itself.
The financial report also gives us details on other aspects of the industry. Unsurprisingly, much of the money that's been passed around in the past few months has been related to acquisitions - with all industry deals totalling $98.7 billion, to be exact. This isn't too surprising, given recent acquisitions from Microsoft and Sony. And with Sony reportedly looking into closing another big deal, it's very likely that the next quarter will be big too. Although probably not Activision Blizzard/Microsoft big.