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

ZED Champions open beta launches March 31

Australia-based Virtually Human Studio, creators of the web3 horse racing game ZED RUN, will launch the open beta for its new title, ZED Champions, on March 31. 

The game is designed to move beyond speculative mechanics and introduce real-time breeding, racing, and strategy powered by the $ZED token and an automated 24/7 race pool. 

The studio will also launch ZED Picks, a mobile companion app that lets spectators support racers and win prizes without needing a crypto wallet.

Gunzilla Games acquires Game Informer

Frankfurt-based AAA game studio Gunzilla Games, developer of the blockchain-integrated shooter Off The Grid, has acquired U.S. gaming magazine Game Informer, which was first published in 1991.

The full editorial team, led by Editor in Chief Matt Miller, will return under the new entity. Gunzilla confirmed the site is live again with exclusive coverage of games released in 2024 and says there are plans to relaunch the print edition with expanded scope.

According to the announcement, Game Informer will operate with full editorial independence and maintain its focus on news, reviews, and insights for the global gaming audience.

Browser-based board game LOL Land launches April 15 on Abstract

LOL Land, a casual web3 board game developed by gaming guild Yield Guild Games, will launch on April 15 on the browser-optimized blockchain Abstract. Players will be able to roll, move across tile-based maps, and earn $YGG tokens, points, and NFTs while gaining Abstract XP.

The game is designed specifically for web3-native players and will even include in-game appearances from licensed Pudgy Penguins characters as guest stars.

Pre-registration is now open ahead of the public launch.

METAVISIO and Pudgy Penguins launch web3-ready laptops

French electronics manufacturer METAVISIO, parent company of Thompson Computing, has partnered with Pudgy Penguins to release co-branded web3 laptops. 

The devices will come pre-loaded with arctic-themed wallpaper, along with a cold-storage wallet and enhanced security features. Distribution details have not yet been announced.

Walmart expands virtual engagement with activations in Minecraft and Discord

U.S. retail chain Walmart launched Skyward, a limited-time branded experience inside Minecraft, running from March 21 to May 15. The game includes a story-driven adventure for players aged 13 and up and features missions across planets to find a missing character called the Golden Child. 

Walmart also opened a Skyward Discord server with integrated product listings tied to “A Minecraft Movie,” including Walmart-exclusive toys and school supplies.

This new initiative builds on Walmart’s prior web3-style activations in metaverse worlds, including Roblox, Spatial, Emperia, and Zepeto.

Forgotten Runiverse early access now live

The Forgotten Runiverse, a fantasy MMORPG developed by web3 gaming studio Magic Machine, launched global early access this week on the Ronin blockchain following three years of development and over one million hours of internal playtesting.

The game features a fully walkable open world, player-owned land plots that earn in-game currency (Quanta) whenever others interact with their property.
Players can also collect resources, craft gear, and mint game items like mounts, familiars, and magical tools as NFTs. A feature called the “Font of Memory” allows players to spend crypto for randomized items, including currency boosts, upgraded materials, and other exclusive perks.

Dogecoin branding chosen by fans for Devlin DeFrancesco’s Indy car

Dogecoin, the memecoin known for its Shiba Inu branding, will appear on Canadian driver Devlin DeFrancesco’s No. 30 Honda during this year’s Indianapolis 500. 

The race entry is backed by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which is co-owned by comedian and show host David Letterman, and web3 advocacy group House of Doge.

In a public vote, fans selected the official livery—a racing term for the car’s visual design and paint scheme—featuring logos, colors, and decals of the famous crypto dog. The “Blaze” theme won with 44% of the vote and will appear on both the car and DeFrancesco’s helmet during the race.

The campaign also includes a fundraiser for Riley Children’s Foundation, an Indiana-based neonatology program.

LG to Shut Down NFT Marketplace Art Lab on Smart TVs by June

LG Electronics will shut down its Art Lab NFT marketplace on smart TVs by June 2025. 

Originally launched in 2022, Art Lab enabled users to browse, purchase, and display NFTs directly from select LG screens.

Artwork minted in collaboration with Art Lab, such as Bryan Brinkman’s “Bloom” collection, can still be found on secondary.

Sasha Stiles debuts HEART MANTRAS at SPARK Art Fair Vienna

Text-tech artist Sasha Stiles premiered her latest generative poetry series, “HEART MANTRAS,” at SPARK Art Fair in Vienna. 

The piece is a self-generating poem that continuously rewrites itself using a mix of Stiles’ original verse and AI-generated lines. Like all of Stiles’ work, “HEART MANTRAS” was produced with her custom AI language model and longtime collaborator, Technelegy. 

Using Stiles’ own dataset, the machine autonomously writes new lines in real time, then dissolves them after each cycle. 

The first four outputs, captured as one-of-one video editions, are available as NFTs on the digital art platform TAEX.

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