Welcome to the OpenSea digest. Let’s look back through the biggest NFT and web3 news of the week.

Nike’s Web3 Arm, .SWOOSH, Partners with Fortnite on “Airphoria” Island

Nike’s web3 arm, .SWOOSH is collaborating with the hugely popular online multiplayer game Fortnite to create a virtual experience called "Airphoria." Players who play the “Airphoria” island portion of the game for 10 minutes or longer are eligible to receive Air Max 1 '86 Back Bling cosmetic in-game asset within Fortnite, and players who link their Epic Games account with their Nike account during the time Airphoria is available in Fortnite (June 20 - June 27, 2023) will be able to claim an “Achievement” on Nike’s .SWOOSH. 

This isn’t Nike’s first collab with Fortnite. Previously, they released the Airie and Maxxed Out Max outfits which were available for purchase on the Fortnite Item Shop. This new venture is different though in that it encourages users to link their Epic and Nike accounts, allowing future interoperability. The FAQs on Epic’s site explain: “Account linking between both partner platforms allows your Virtual Products (such as Fortnite Cosmetics and Nike Achievements) to be interoperable, starting with your ability to claim your .SWOOSH Achievements when you account link or purchase a cosmetic.”

Despite the fact that the collab does not include in-game NFTs, this introduces Fortnite’s extra large user base to Nike’s web3 entity, .SWOOSH, which is built on Polygon.

Parallel Reveals New Game Equipped with ERC 6551 Avatars

Parallel, a web3 sci-fi world and card game, announced their new game, Parallel Colony, this week. Colony is an AI simulation game that uses the latest advancements in AI research. All the items collected, created, and built in the world are NFTs that are held in each avatar's own wallet using the ERC 6551 protocol. This week Parallel gave 14 people the chance to play Colony together for the first time while others were allowed to watch the closed alpha gameplay. 

We wrote about ERC 6551 in a previous edition of This Week in Web3 and NFTs. As a refresher, ERC 6551 gives NFTs the ability to operate as their own smart contract accounts. But what does this mean? These NFTs can do things like collect other NFTs, store ERC-20 tokens, log into web3 apps, vote in DAOs, collect POAPs, and buy and sell tokens. These are token-bound accounts.

Now that more users are utilizing NFTs as their on-chain identities, these functionalities will allow them to do more directly from their NFTs, and web3 games feel like an incredible use case for this technology. Parallel is one of the first examples of a web3 game diving into this, and we’re excited to see who else follows!

The Physical KodaPendant Claim is Now Live

Back in March of this year, Yuga officially announced KodaPendant, Otherside: Relics by Gucci. According to the website, “The KodaPendant is the first relic in the Otherside Relics by Gucci collection and is dedicated to Vessel and Koda NFT Holders, focused on the intersection of digital and physical spaces.” 

The digital portion of the KodaPendant was released in March, and now the physical claim portion of this phygital drop is live. According to Otherside, holders can visit https://kodapendant.gucci.com to start the claim process and review the FAQ.  The claim will close on July 6, 2023, at 12 PM ET. Voyagers will forfeit their right to claim their physical KodaPendant after this time.

As a refresher, the physical KodaPendant is made with .925 silver with an antique finish, has a Koda-shaped pendant with GG engraving, an interlocking G chain, a Baroque-inspired engraving, an engraved back depicting a physical KodaPendant edition number, a 50cm long chain, and a 22mm x 24mm pendant.

Yuga Labs Announces HV-MTL Forge Will Begin June 29, 2023

In January, Yuga launched the Bored Ape Yacht Club's (BAYC) mini-game, Dookey Dash. Participants raced through the sewers to find a golden key. Although only one person won, all 30,000 participants received a Power Source NFT. On May 17, these new NFTs were revealed. Collectors discovered a HV-MTL collectible in the form of a floating robot that transforms into a wearable mecha. There are 8 types created from 1050 traits with a rarity score determined by the original owners' position in the game.

These NFTs play a key role in the next phase of Yuga’s metaverse evolution, as they’ll be needed for the forge, which Yuga announced is beginning on June 29th. 

Yuga made the announcement on June 20th with the tagline “Build. Flex. Fight. Evolve.” implying that holders will gain the ability to begin building within the game. The official HV-MTL site explains, “In HV-MTL Forge: build and customize a workshop that prepares your HVs for their evolution. Show off your creations to climb the leaderboard and unlock special abilities.” Once the forge begins, we’ll get to see the full spectrum of new features.