The executives from Immutable X and Microsoft seem to have hinted that the software behemoth may also be teaming up with GameStop for NFT games. In the wake of that information, the stock price of the popular video game store chain GameStop (GME) gained around 13% within a day.
These gains came amid rumors circulating online about a partnership with Microsoft to work on nonfungible token (NFT) gaming. GME was hovering around $116 as of market close on February 8 and has managed to hold this level in after-hours trading and February 9, based on data acquired from TradingView.
GME started this month at around the $100 region and has been pumping since then on the back of GameStop’s partnership with nonfungible token-focused Layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution, Immutable X, to create its upcoming NFT marketplace. As part of that lucrative deal, GameStop is also rolling out a $100 million grant program denominated in IMX tokens for NFT content creators and tech developers.
The most recent rumors circulating on channels like Twitter and Reddit indicate that GameStop may partner with Microsoft to introduce NFT integrations into existing games, together with creating new NFT focused games.
Microsoft partnering with GameStop for #NFT and #Metaverse ?? big companies behind the curve will scoop up the existing industry leaders that have been building the space already.
— A古川 (@OmniFurukawa) February 8, 2022
Twitter user “P_MackD” published a photo that contained compiled screenshots of tweets from Microsoft and Immutable X executives cryptically posting the “probably nothing” meme about the massive partnership with GameStop.
Specifically, Yorke Rhodes III, the director of Microsoft’s blockchain department tagged Xbox, GameStop and Microsoft in his tweet, possibly suggesting that the technology giant may have a defined role to play in the Immutable X and GameStop partnership behind the scenes.
Best graphic I've seen about all this nothingness so passing it on. Probably nothing though…#GameStop #gme #Microsoft #must#immutableX #loopring #Apple #lrc pic.twitter.com/9vCZn33O5a
— moonape.nft (@P_MackD) February 8, 2022
While it is still not clear what the exact connection between these three parties is, a February 6 post on the r/Superstonk Reddit community mentioned a notable hypothesis of what such a partnership might entail.
Commenting on Microsoft’s major $69 billion acquisition of the gaming giant Activision Blizzard, bamfcoco1 focused on the company’s turn-based player versus player collectible card game Hearthstone as something ripe for NFT integrations through Immutable X and GameStop.
The Redditor stated that Hearthstone’s declining user base from a peak of around 23.5 million to 3.5 million was due to the heavy costs of card collecting and lack of true ownership over the user’s assets, something that can be resolved using NFT integrations:
With the ability to freely mint and trade NFTs on Immutable X’s platform, it’s a no brainer. GameStop could launch Hearthstone on their brand new Web3 platform by simply making an NFT for every card and then distributing them accordingly to users’ existing card collections. It’s about as easy as it would get.”
It seems like NFT and Web3 related announcements have a massive impact on the price of the GameStop shares. Reports in early January showed the price of GME gaining a staggering 26% in the after-hours trading after the introduction of the company’s new NFT department.
