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AMGI Studios has raised funding to make a non-fungible token (NFT) game and a metaverse that bridges Web3 and Hollywood.
The money comes from Yield Guild Games, Bitkraft Ventures, and Delphi Digital. The amount of the funding was not disclosed.
The animators behind the game are ex-Pixar and Disney. They’re making an NFT project called My Pet Hooligan as well as a mobile app Immi, which will allow players to create real-time animated characters.
The project promises to bring NFTs to life. The funding will be used to further build out AMGI’s the metaverse, the universe of virtual worlds that are all interconnected, like in novels such as Snow Crash and Ready Player One.
AMGI is also creating a game The Rabbit Hole, a mixture of Grand Theft Auto and Zootopia. The company said it will promote “free, exciting and rebellious gameplay juxtaposed with high-quality animated characters.”
All three investors will also take advisory roles in AMGI, as the team builds out gameplay, in-game ecosystems, and in-game social structures.
AMGI said it is on a mission to combine proprietary technology with high-quality, character-driven animation to create a bridge between Hollywood and the Web3 ecosystem. NFTs use the blockchain to authenticate unique digital items, and Hollywood companies are using them to create rare digital collectibles. That doesn’t tell us exactly what kind of game or Hollywood connection exists here, but it offers clues.
The creative team includes artists and animators from Pixar, Disney and ILM. AMGI has developed a series of cutting-edge animation capabilities and technologies that will serve as fundamental infrastructure for the expansion of Web3.
In addition to AMGI’s recently launched mobile app Immi, with celebrity investors behind it including Marc Cuban, Tony Robbins, Pitbull, and Paris Hilton, The Rabbit Hole’s action-adventure metaverse game, is an iterative and open-world experience that sits in a wider Unreal 5 metaverse architecture being built by AMGI called Interloop.
“AMGI Studios is bringing together a team of creatives who have demonstrated their ability to deliver a story-driven narrative with top-of-the-line production studios,” said Jeff Holmberg, head of asset acquisition at Yield Guild Games, in a statement. “We are proud to have them as a partner and excited for our player community to have a great experience exploring the My Pet Hooligan Metaverse.”
Interloop is where different projects, intellectual properties, games, narratives, and creators can build together to develop a rich ecosystem of assets, characters, IP, and stories. The interoperability of metaverses and Web3 brands is essential to a robust and healthy ecosystem, and Interloop will serve as the connective tissue that networks these communities, the company said.
“By combining a renowned creative team with cutting-edge technology initiatives, AMGI Studios is reshaping the animation landscape of entertainment, game content, and interactive AR/VR environments,” said Jamie Wallace, an associate at Bitkraft, in a statement. “Through the use of its proprietary technology, Interloop, AMGI Studios will bring impactful interoperability to the Web3 ecosystem, essentially defining the future of the metaverse.”
“AMGI Studios is dead set on streamlining and making creativity more accessible and easier for the masses,” said Jeremy Parris, an associate at Delphi Digital, in a statement. “This opening up of creativity using their proprietary technologies they’ve developed will help usher in interoperability within the Metaverse, help realize the creator economy, and lower the barrier of entry into many creative mediums. The repercussions of this are immense and we at Delphi Digital are excited to partner with AMGI to help design this future.”
The company said it has long-term plans in development for how Interloop will take shape over time, including the ability for other projects and brands to acquire and build upon the architecture to create their own unique experiences.
AMGI said Interloop will offer an immersive digital experience and bring other projects together with real interoperability. A framework will ensure consistency while allowing builders to create their own experiences and gameplay modes. The Rabbit Hole is the first piece of that greater architecture.
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