Ready Player DAO (RPD) was valued at $150 million in a new $10.2 million funding round, the latest validation of the play-to-earn gaming model.
Why it matters: The crypto industry has high hopes for Web3 video games to bring lots of new users into digital assets, because people actually get to own the stuff they gather up while playing.
The big picture: Imagine if the gold coins your character finds in the game world could be traded for real coins? That's very much happening now with games like Axie Infinity. That's why it's called "play-to-earn."
How it works: Playing a game in the play-to-earn landscape isn't as simple as turning on the game. You need an in-game asset to play — and those assets are expensive. Very expensive.
RPD's business model rests on three pillars:
RPD is already splitting earnings with more than 3,000 gamers playing Axie Infinity, Geno Pets, Pegaxy and other games.
It's not alone out there. A similar operation, Yield Guild Games, has the backing of Andreessen Horowitz.
Yes, but: The optics of play-to-earn has rubbed some the wrong way, with people in emerging markets grinding away in games as a way to get by.
