Futureverse News - October 2024
Welcome to the October edition of Futureverse News – your definitive guide to everything happening across our ecosystem and beyond.
Welcome to the October edition of Futureverse News – your definitive guide to everything happening across our ecosystem and beyond. This month, we’re bringing you exclusive insights from a major industry event, shining a light on significant product developments, and sharing key updates from our business and partners. Dive into October’s highlights, fresh off the Futureverse News desk.
Permissionless III unpacked
Permissionless III was a transformative event that brought together thought leaders from all over the globe to speak, showcase products, dig into workshops, and explore a deeper sense of community within the web3 space. Hosted in Utah, Futureverse was right in the heart of the action. As Ruby Sponsors, we partnered with Polemos and Illuvium – companies that share our vision for open gaming built on true digital ownership and interoperability – to introduce the Gaming Lounge at Permissionless. This space was easily one of the focal points of the event and offered an agenda jam-packed with interviews and fireside chats with prominent figures in the industry, like David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple and innovative leader on the XRP Ledger, Ernest Cline, author of the Ready Player One novel and co-writer of the screenplay for the Ready Player One film, the film’s producer, Dan Farah, and more.
A fireside chat with The Readyverse co-founders, Aaron McDonald, Ernest Cline, and Dan Farah hosted by Futureverse Head of Social, Krista Gambrel.
The Gaming Lounge also hosted competitive tournaments and events, and gave attendees the chance to test out The Readyverse’s generative AI game world, Promptopia, for the very first time. It featured technology from Altered State, Futureverse’s underlying generative AI tool that produces game-ready 3D objects, alongside Jen’s AI music capabilities, and a custom skybox generator that created stunning background scenes from a single text prompt. The multiplayer sandbox experience allowed players to bring their imagination to life through cutting edge AI tools in a virtual world full of possibilities. Promptopia showcased how gaming can intersect with generative AI in new ways and demonstrated how lifting traditional creative restrictions can empower players and spark their imaginations. From music to scenery to objects that players interacted with, it was incredible to see this digital canvas filled with ideas from people attending from around the world.
A taste of the action at Permissionless III including Promptopia in the Gaming Lounge.
Aaron McDonald, co-founder and CEO of Futureverse, teamed up with Kieran Warwick, co-founder and CEO of Illuvium, and Kevin O’Hara, co-founder of Polemos, to present a show-stopping three-part keynote presentation, which you can watch below (Aaron’s section begins at 08:54). The keynote at Permissionless highlighted the “New Dawn of Open Gaming,” and focused on the Futureverse vision of cultivating true interoperability and open gaming.
Futureverse co-founder and CEO, Aaron McDonald, delivers an unforgettable keynote at Permissionless.
Permissionless brought together 11 team members from Futureverse and The Readyverse, along with incredible community members like Atari God, Smothering NFTs, and LostInCrypto. It was an unforgettable event that allowed us to develop a deeper relationship with our community and partners, and provided the opportunity to extend our reach into the depths of the ecosystem, connecting with companies building in the web3 and gaming space all over the globe.
Read more:
The first look at OPEN gameplay
The OPEN team debuted an exclusive sneak peek during Permissionless III, giving fans a first look at gameplay from the upcoming battle royale. The video offers a preview of the immersive world players will dive into during early access and sets the stage for a bold new direction in competitive gaming.
OPEN, the hero experience in The Readyverse, is the first genre-defining AAA metaverse gaming experience with top-tier IP powered by interoperable gaming technology. A multi-biome, multi-IP, multi-mode battle royale competition, in development for PC and next-gen platforms. Early access to the game is coming – check out the sneak peek below and stay tuned for more updates as we move closer to the release date.
Create anything imaginable with ALTERED STATE
If the magic of Promptopia caught your eye, you’ll want to check out ALTERED STATE, a new generative tool that transforms your thoughts into 3D models through the power of AI. From a single image or text prompt, ALTERED STATE will create stunning 3D models, ready to be styled, textured, and used to level up projects of any kind. Whether you’re building immersive game worlds, animating in Unreal Engine or Blender, or adding some flair to your social content, ALTERED STATE can help you create anything imaginable.
The alpha version of the web experience is launching soon, open to creators from our waitlist who will be first to test and provide feedback on the experience. Ready to join them? Register your interest below, and follow the ALTERED STATE socials for a steady stream of creative inspiration heading your way.
Jen brought TikTok’s former Global Head of Music Partnerships into the mix
Jen, the ethically-trained AI music creation platform, appointed TikTok’s former global head of music partnerships Isabel Quinteros as senior vice president of marketing and industry relations. In her new role, Quinteros will develop a scalable framework to help artists monetize their contributions, fostering a sustainable model for AI-driven music creation. She’ll work closely with co-founder Shara Senderoff. Quinteros, a public relations expert, joined TikTok in 2019 and helped transform it into a key platform for artists, supporting artists in every phase of their careers. She also co-launched TikTok’s first IRL concert and led DEI initiatives, earning industry recognition. Senderoff praised Quinteros as a game-changer who can “bridge the worlds of music and tech, while keeping talent at the center,” while co-founder Mike Caren highlighted her skills in partnership-building and innovation, adding, “I’m confident that under her leadership, Jen will set a new standard for how AI can elevate creativity while ensuring artists remain at the heart of the process.”
Your Kingdom awaits: An important update from The Third Kingdom
In September, we covered the UFO invasion The Third Kingdom faced during its launch. As a fierce battle raged and pushed the game to its limits, our community stepped in to combat the foreign invaders and restore balance in the Kingdom. During October, the game moved into a beta phase to allow for further testing, community feedback, and optimizations. We’re excited to share that Episode 1 of the game has been reset – here’s everything you need to know:
- All Prysms have been undeployed.
- All Kingdom Coins have been refunded to players.
- Prysms have retained their production bonuses.
- The Material World feature went live, which added a new layer of strategic challenges.
- Players got a fresh biome selection for a revitalized Origin Island.
Special rewards were sent to players who joined the fight, and supported game optimization during the beta phase. We also sent out randomly-assigned spot prizes like Buzzies and Seekers to lucky winners who prestiged. A huge congratulations goes out to the ultimate champion, BildoVerde, who reached the highest prestige level (17!) and took home a Fluf.
Check out the full rewards breakdown here.
Following The Third Kingdom’s beta phase, a new feature called the Material World went live. The Material World is an interconnected digital ecosystem, where resources collected by players in The Third Kingdom can be minted, traded, and used in other games and digital experiences where developers choose to integrate them. Built on The Root Network, the Material World Protocol lets players’ resources travel beyond The Third Kingdom, creating a shared resource economy.
With the final optimizations underway, we look forward to broadcasting the re-launch across key channels soon, and welcoming new players into The Third Kingdom.
Blink and you missed it
Gods and Goblins surged past a huge milestone
50,000 Goblins and we’re just warming up... Gods and Goblins has hit a significant milestone with over 50,000 Goblins summoned to date, making it the largest character collection on The Root Network. Thanks to each and every member of the growing horde for joining us on the journey. From sacrificial burns to carnage in the Grumble arena and more, it’s been a wild ride. Let the chaos continue!
Aaron’s must-read article published on Cointelegraph
Back in August, Aaron McDonald shared a thought-provoking op-ed on X that uncovered truths about the current state of web3 gaming. His article was recently published on Cointelegraph – have a read to learn more about true interoperability and how our Ready Player One partnership introduces new users to the future of gaming.
An inside look at the Asset Register
Explore the fascinating journey behind the development of the Asset Register. A newly published blog from The Root Network covers progress, challenges, and future developments on the path to further decentralization as a core protocol on the Sylo Network. The Asset Register is a custom ledger system and tool suite that enables developers to set data parameters for their assets, defining what an asset is, what it can do, and in what environments it can be applied, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of applications in the open metaverse.
Upgrade incoming: Futureverse SDK
We announced planned updates to the Futureverse authentication SDK. These will include a refreshed, enhanced user interface for improved UX, an upgrade to WAGMI 2.0, expanded customization options for themes and background images, and the automatic enablement of new OAuth options in your experiences. To take advantage of these future releases, please ensure your apps and experiences are using the latest SDK.
Futureverse in real life
Ottó Blockchain won Ripple’s Innovation Award
We were delighted to see Ottó Blockchain honored with Ripple’s Innovation Award during October’s Ripple Swell event – well-deserved recognition for Jeff McDonald and his team’s hard work. In addition, Ripple confirmed plans to provide crypto asset custody services for Futureverse, ensuring verified digital assets are securely received, managed, and stored. These milestones highlight our commitment to innovation, and also strengthen our position as a trusted partner in the evolving digital finance and tokenization landscape.
Immersive training at XRPL Commons in Paris
This month, we were excited to announce that we’d be heading to Paris from November 4-5 for an action-packed inaugural training session at XRPL Commons HQ. This two-day workshop, led by Futureverse CTO Marco Brondani and Senior Full Stack Developer Rich Deane, focused on exploring and discovering how to build for an open and interoperable metaverse with The Root Network and Futureverse. Keep your eyes peeled – we’ll share more details and insights from the event in the November edition of Futureverse News.
Behind the mic
Our team was busy dropping knowledge across different platforms throughout October. Explore the latest podcast episodes here:
- Asia Tech Podcast: Is the metaverse already here? Are we ready for it?
- CryptoInsightsUK Podcast: Blockchain, AI and gaming: Futureverse, a new world
- Livestream: The Catalyst Effect with Futureverse
- Kindred Podcast: AI and the future of music with Shara Senderoff
Be sure to catch up on the key insights from our latest Open Space on X. In this edition, Futureverse Head of Social, Krista Gambrel, led an engaging dialogue with Aaron where members of our community were encouraged to join an open discussion centered around these important themes: build, ship, learn, improve.
Ecosystem happenings
A transformative new feature for Tradeverse
Over the past 30 days, Tradeverse has seen a steady increase in user engagement, with nearly 18,000 unique visitors active on the platform. This activity is driven in part by a new peer-to-peer trading function unique to Tradeverse. The function allows you to trade NFTs and other digital assets directly with other users P2P and maintain full control over your trades.
Security first: Girin locked in a crucial audit
Girin successfully completed a security audit on Lotus Lending Contracts. Lotus Protocol is a lending and liquid staking token (LST) protocol preparing to launch on The Root Network, offering sustainable yield farming for XRP and ROOT holders.
Project Tempus took on Armageddon
The Project Tempus team made waves at Armageddon from October 25-28, with exclusive physical versions of their game-changing digital comic, Machines of Mana, flying off the shelves IRL. These limited-edition prints are must-have collector’s items for web3 enthusiasts and comic fans and will be available online in time for Christmas.
RCADIA announced exclusive beta testing for Genesis pass holders
Step into an exciting world where all Genesis pass holders can join exclusive beta testing for RCADIA games like Genesis Pinball and Block Bustas. Open the Explore tab in your FuturePass and dive into the immersive digital arcade, compete to rise to the top of the leaderboards, and prepare for seasonal challenges designed to put your skills to the ultimate test.
The first generative art drop on The Root Network
Root Blocks announced Layers of Reality – the first generative art drop on The Root Network. The Genesis art series ‘Physical Matters’ is the first of seven drops over seven months, with 777 rare collectibles available during each mint. Keep an eye on this innovative artwork to see what happens when coding and creativity combine.
Humans of Futureverse
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Rich Deane
Senior Full Stack Developer
A UK native with over a decade in the software development game, Rich is a driving force in our technology department. Starting out porting desktop apps to web, he later launched a successful web dev and design agency before joining the ATEM team in ’22. Now based in Scotland, Rich has been pivotal in bringing projects like ATEM and RAICERS to life. When he’s not shaping the future of web3, you’ll find him on the back nine of his local golf course or hanging out with his family. Rich recently dropped into the XRPL Commons workshop in Paris to share his expertise on web3 development, building on The Root Network, and good fromage with the world.
Thanks for joining us for the October edition of Futureverse News. We hope you feel more connected than ever to the pulse of what’s happening in our ecosystem. Our aim is to keep you in the loop on all the latest product announcements, thought leadership articles, and company updates. Stay tuned to our social channels for weekly wrap-ups covering the exciting developments shaping our virtual worlds. Until next time, remember, we’re not building the future. You are. 💫