New startups Ultra and Robot Cache are building new distribution options for gamers.
Remember when anyone who had a tech company had a blockchain strategy? It’s happening again, Batman. AMD has announced that it’s joining the Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA). The company says it is partnering with Robot Cache and Ultra to promote the development and proliferation of blockchain-based PC gaming. This is a movement in the making. The activities listed on the Blockchain Game Alliance page are meet-ups and conferences exploring the role of blockchain in gameplay. I’d go because I’d love to know how blockchain and gamers come together. Unfortunately, for me, most of the upcoming meetings are in Asia and one is in Kyiv. There’s a hint in those locations because one of the major selling points of blockchain are that it has built-in security making it useful for distribution.
In AMD’s press release, the company said, in addition to joining the BGA, AMD is teaming with Robot Cache and Ultra. Robot Cache has launched a marketplace for games that allows gamers to buy, sell, and trade games. It also has a mining feature. Robot Cache members can use their graphics boards to mine for Iron bitcoins when they’re not gaming. Ultra is a game distribution company based on blockchain and thereby directly connects gamers with game makers.
Both companies are also AMD customers. Their infrastructures are built on AMD’s Epyc processors and AMD’s Radeon graphics are cryptographically gifted.
For more information, see the press release on the AMD site and the discussion of blockchain technology for the future.
What do we think?
The gaming industry is a great laboratory for companies interested in building blockchain services. It has everything: an avid fan base that will sometimes go to the ends of the legal earth to get new content or advance information; a worldwide market that is a maze of platforms, licensing schemes and subscriptions; and regional restrictions and cultural differences. And, perhaps most important, the community is sophisticated about the blockchain technology. If blockchain can enable marketplaces that tolerate game exchanges and ensure security and fair payments, it will be a win for everyone in a very touchy market.
Just because bitcoin mining fever is no longer causing distortions in the graphics card marketing reality fields doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the power to change distribution and information sharing.
The processor companies have continued to explore and build on the potential of blockchain and they intend to be ready when the time comes to cash in. In addition to gaming, AMD lists several applications where blockchain makes sense including Medicine and Health Care, Finance and Banking, Insurance, Internet of Things (IoT) and Networking, Digital Advertising, Cyber Security, Supply Chain, Cloud Computing, Retail, Real Estate, Publishing, Energy. In short, where there are markets, there’s an opportunity for blockchain.
