YouTube’s latest content rules announcement hasn’t gone down well with Web3 gaming creators, who say the platform is unfairly targeting them.
“YouTube’s new policy is a direct attack on Web3 gaming and CS skins,” Gamer Leevai said in an X post. Fellow gamer Predz added, “Know any Web3 creators? They need to see this.”
The update, which is expected to roll out on Nov. 17, expands YouTube’s definition of prohibited online gaming content to cover digital goods with monetary value, including skins, cosmetics, NFTs, and other blockchain-based assets.
Gaming analyst Eliza Crichton-Stuart said the changes could “impact thousands of creators in the Web3 and blockchain gaming space.”
He further explained that content around playing the game itself and not focusing on the monetary value aspects of the game should be “mostly okay,” while diving into anything that “involves staking, earning, or cashing out” may be more risky and lead to YouTube banning the account.
The policy tweak comes amid a broader crackdown on crypto content on YouTube.
Crypto YouTuber Kyle Chassé recently told Magazine that he has one strike left on his YouTube account before it might be banned forever.
Web3 gaming giant Animoca Brands is making its long-awaited move toward the Nasdaq stock exchange, laying out a plan to go public via a reverse merger with fintech firm Currenc Group Inc.
Founder Yat Siu called the deal part of Animoca’s “strategic plan” to open its 600-plus company portfolio, spanning Web3 gaming, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and AI, to mainstream investors.
Under the proposal, Animoca shareholders would own approximately 95% of the merged entity, which will continue to operate under the Animoca Brands name. A reverse merger lets a private company go public by absorbing an already listed one — a faster and less risky path than a traditional IPO.
Popular YouTuber Conor Kenny said it is a “watershed moment for crypto stocks.”
“Web3 gaming, RWA, AI, and a $600+ company portfolio now accessible to a broader investor base,” Kenny said.
The Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget said, “Today marks a bold new step toward its vision of empowering digital property rights and shaping a better future for all.”
Areta co-founder Karl-Martin Ahrend said, “The lines between traditional finance and digital assets continue to blur.”
“Today marks another major step in that direction,” he added.
Web3’s riskiest and potentially most thrill-seeking game, Cambria, is coming back for another season, this time with a few extra million in its war chest.
“Excited to announce that we’ve raised an additional $2m in Strategic fundraising from @BITKRAFTVC @SkyMavisHQ to continue building our degen-native MMO with massive onchain stakes,” Cambria said in an X post.
Cambria, a risk-to-earn seasonal MMO, has already had two wildly successful seasons and won over the hardcore Web3 gamers. Inspired by classics like Runescape and Ultima, the game is based on Ronin and Abstract.
It’s set in a brutal medieval fantasy world, and players stake crypto, NFTs and other in-game assets, but if they lose a battle, they can lose everything they’ve put on the line.
By the end of Season 2 in April, some players were so hooked they were squeezing in raids between work calls. Gamer “Birdie” said they did their “best while working a 9-6 job.”
After two seasons of mayhem, Cambria says it’s built “a commanding first-mover lead in creating one of the most advanced crypto-native MMORPGs in what we believe to be a new category of games.”
No date has been set yet for Cambria’s Season 3.
Yuga Labs’ Otherside is set to launch in mid-November, and industry speculators say a successful debut could be a pivotal moment for the entire Web3 gaming industry.
“There will be a biblical shift in attention back to NFTs, digital land and assets,” gamer Nathan Head said in an X post. Others say the sentiment for the game has changed significantly in recent times.
“Otherside made it from the biggest Yuga’s FUD case to the biggest potential catalyst on the whole market,” gamer Marcel said.
Otherside is a gamified metaverse that blends MMORPG mechanics with Web3 virtual worlds. It has been in development for three years and draws inspiration from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), the once-hyped NFT collection that has seen its interest decline since its launch in 2021.
Meanwhile, the project’s native token has also struggled. Apecoin has dropped 60% over the past 12 months, according to CoinMarketCap.
