Star Atlas is a next generation, hyper-realistic gaming metaverse set in futuristic deep space. In this conversation I chat to the CEO Michael Wagner to find out how they are completely changing the game when it comes to living, playing, earning and owning digital assets in the metaverse and what opportunities await for early adopters. I'm also really pleased to announce that I have teamed up with Republic Realm, who are exclusively sponsoring this episode. Republic Realm are a metaverse investment and innovation platform. We recently had them on the show and it was one of my favourite episodes, so I'm really happy to now be working together to bring you some of the brightest minds behind new metaverse platforms. Thank you for your continued support! Republic Realm are also one of the largest owners of digital real estate NFTs in Decentraland, The Sandbox and Axie Infinity. To find out more about what they do, head to https://www.republicrealm.com and follow them on twitter here : https://www.twitter.com/joinrepublic_RE and Discord : discord.gg/ntSaG8b9sW To join my weekly NFT drops newsletter, head to metaverseluke.substack.com, you can also reach out at metaversepod@gmail.com Links for Star Atlas To find out more about the Star Atlas metaverse and to watch the trailer, head to : https://staratlas.com/ Star Atlas Twitter : https://twitter.com/staratlas and Discord : Discord.gg/staratlas In this episode we talk about : - Michael Wagner's story through crypto and his journey to co-founding Star Atlas - The blockchain gaming revolution and the vast opportunities of digital ownership in the wider metaverse - An overview of the mindblowing Star Atlas metaverse - set in futuristic interstellar space and built around space exploration, territorial conquest and political dominance - The hyper realistic experience of Star Atlas built using Unreal Engine 5 and how the universe works cross platform in real-time - The tokenomics, economy and governance of $ATLAS and $POLIS and how entire civilisations, governments and commerce will be created in the world - How you earn assets (and potentially lose assets) through deep space exploration and combat in the game - The many other ways to earn value and be part of the Star Atlas economy - going solo vs. recruiting a fully functioning ship and crew - The vast scope of the Star Atlas world, ships and assets within - The roadmap and delivering game mechanics along the way via the in browser mini game. How the assets earned today will transfer to the 3D world. - The many intricacies of building a suitable crew and how nuanced elements will affect gameplay - How Star Atlas is built on Solana for speed and efficiency of a rapidly developing virtual world and economy - How an early adopter today can benefit from what is coming next - Collaborations with major artists such as Bassjackers, DeadMau5 and fashion houses such as The Fabricant for the Rebirth Meta-Posters series. - How Star Atlas could create an entirely new employment economy within the metaverse available globally, 24/7 - Events in Star Atlas and other roles of the world - Working with established IP's and their collaborative approach - including their recent NFT collaboration with a Space X Rocket, The US Space Force and The Neil Armstrong Estate  - Where to go to learn more about Star Atlas and how to get involved. Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Welcome to the Metaverse Podcast, we have the extremely well loved and well respected Samuel Cardillo. He’s a tech genius, who’s working on everything from geospatial intelligence to smart contracts. He’s currently the Chief Technology Officer at RTFKT Studios and has even assisted the Department of Defence - above all he is a lovely man. He continually does great work in the NFT community, most recently helping other projects check their smart contracts and migrating the CryptoBabyPunks to their own independent smart contract, alongside many other things. Samuel is the perfect person to talk about how a credible NFT project can be built and this episode is packed with so much value.  I would really recommend following Samuel on his twitter @CardilloSamuel - https://twitter.com/CardilloSamuel For more helpful explainer articles and a weekly newsletter on NFT drops - head to my substack - metaverseluke.substack.com As always, nothing in this podcast is financial or investment advice, always do your own research. Enjoy this week's episode and thank you for your continued support!

In this episode of the Welcome to the Metaverse podcast, we dive into the world of gaming, both at amateur and elite level with Esports. We look at how this huge audience are set to enter the blockchain gaming space. The metaverse, crypto and gaming are about to collide. The gaming market is worth more than the film and music industry put together and is forecast to be worth about $200 billion by 2022.  In a previous episode we looked at the runaway success of Axie Infinity as one of the first revolutionary blockchain play-to-earn games, but with the addition of Esports into the mix and some exciting new games on the horizon, it certainly looks like Axie Infinity is only the first of many.  What opportunities can we spot early before a new wave of money enters the metaverse from the gaming space? For helpful explainer articles and a weekly newsletter on NFT drops - head to my substack - metaverseluke.substack.com As always, nothing in this podcast is financial or investment advice, always do your own research. In this episode we talk about   - The continued unbelievable success of Axie Infinity - Why gaming is so ingrained in human nature and how some of the first creations in the metaverse were in the Vegas District of Decentraland - How companies use gamification to encourage certain behaviours and how successful gamification is the best marketing in the world - Comparing the tiny (but ridiculously valuable) market share of Axie Infinity to the wider market against games like Candy Crush - there is a big audience waiting for blockchain games - Esports and the phenomenal numbers from the latest industry report - 888 The New World's partnership with Esports and what is next - New and upcoming blockchain games including : a recap on Chicken Derby (and its upcoming drop), The Sandbox, Alien Worlds, Guild of Guardians (and their Esports partnership), Star Atlas and Illuviam - How best to get exposure to this exploding space Links to projects and references in the show : Contagious by Jonah Berger - fascinating book on marketing, virality and gamification  ESports Industry Review - https://newzoo.com/ 888 The New World - https://888tnw.com/ Chicken Derby - https://twitter.com/bitlovincom The Sandbox - discover.sandbox.game/#/en/ Alien Worlds - https://alienworlds.io/ Guild of Guardians - https://www.guildofguardians.com/ Star Atlas - https://staratlas.com/ Illuviam - https://www.illuvium.io/

The NFT space and wider metaverse appears to be in the middle of another extreme hype cycle. Credible OG projects such as The CryptoPunks are selling for upwards of $13 million each, it looks like we might see the first $1 million sale of a Bored Ape Yacht Club avatar soon and EtherRocks (yes pictures of rocks) are selling for $100,000. To spot future opportunities and understand where NFTs and the metaverse are going next, it's always a good idea to look back into history at the origins of the space. More often than not, the themes of successful projects from the past can give us good clues as to what is likely to be successful in the future.  This isn't a boring NFT history lesson, but rather a look at why a pixelated jpeg of a CryptoPunk may justifiably be worth 10's of millions of dollars and what the next phase of this space is likely to be. Hopefully this episode can also be a good place to send new friends and family who want a crash course on NFTs and the story so far.  Thank you to a variety of authors who I learnt from in helping to put this episode together. Their articles are linked below. As always, nothing in this episode is financial or investment advice, always do your own research. For regular alerts on projects and writings in the space, head to metaverseluke.substack.com In this episode we talk about : - The current hype cycle of the NFT space, speculation as a natural part of adoption but also mini boom and bust cycles - How understanding the history of an asset class (in this case NFTs and digital assets in the metaverse) can give a good indication of what's coming next - A recap for newcomes on what an NFT is and why it can have value  - Blockchain enabling entirely new digital asset classes and value creation - The first ever NFT - Coloured Coins on Bitcoin in 2012 - The story of CounterParty and Rare Pepe the frog memes - The creation of CryptoPunks and how they were all free! - CryptoKitties introducing cute cat NFTs you can breed and how knowledge of this gave clues to Zed Run's success - How CryptoKitties clogged up the Ethereum network - The beginnings of Decentraland and early digital real estate - Trading NFTs on secondary markets and OpenSea - Mainstream adoption of NFTs, Beeple, Kings of Leon and the creative industry changing forever - Clues for what comes next for the metaverse - Spotlight on NFT projects I'm watching Sources for this episode Andrew Steinwold - https://medium.com/@Andrew.Steinwold/the-history-of-non-fungible-tokens-nfts-f362ca57ae10 Portion Blog - https://blog.portion.io/the-history-of-nfts-how-they-got-started/ CryptoVantage - https://www.cryptovantage.com/non-fungible-tokens/history-of-nfts/  

In this episode of the Welcome to the Metaverse podcast, I chat to the brilliant Janine Yorio. Janine is the Managing Director of Republic Realm, who are the premier real estate investor and developer in the metaverse. I personally found this chat absolutely fascinating as Janine talks about their investment strategy in the digital real estate space. We talk about their record breaking $900,000 estate purchase in Decentraland, their development of the Metajuku District and virtual shopping mall, their upcoming projects including Fantasy Islands and a whole host more. I would highly recommend following Republic Realm on twitter here : https://twitter.com/joinrepublic_RE and you can keep up to date with everything they are working on at https://www.republicrealm.com/ In this episode we discuss - Janine's traditional investment and real estate background and her journey into the digital real estate market with Republic Realm - How the concept of digital real estate isn't new but the addition of blockchain is, and how that changes the game completely - Republic Realm's record breaking purchase of an estate in Decentraland and their development of their virtual shopping district called The Metajuku District - The next generation of metaverses and what they will learn from Decentraland - Digital fashion and the future of online shopping. We also talk about the brands renting virtual mall space in The Metajuku District - Republic Realm's upcoming Art & Culture District, socialising and metaverse dating - What needs to happen for the metaverse to go fully mainstream - Opportunities for individuals and small business who are here early - Tips on buying land in the metaverse. - Republic Realm's upcoming NFT drop (Fantasy Islands) where you can buy and own your own private islands in Decentraland and their first in metaverse video game called Zombiegeist As always nothing in this episode is financial advice, always do your own research Thank you for subscribing, if you have 30 seconds to leave a rating and a review that is so appreciated. I also have a substack newsletter with paid alerts here metaverseluke.substack.com Do say hello on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/MetaverseLuke and you can reach out on email at metaversepod@gmail.com

This week we dive into Mark Zuckerberg's interview where he announced that Facebook are transitioning to being a metaverse company within the next 5 years. The race for the metaverse has begun but where does this leave Epic Games & Fortnite, Roblox and decentralised worlds like Decentraland? Are they even all racing for the same goal? We do an overview of where the space is at the minute and how each virtual world seems to be offering something subtly different across 2D, VR and AR. What is the best way to catch the upside in this new internet revolution that is now coming thick and fast? In this episode we discuss : - Mark Zuckerberg's interview discussing the transition of Facebook becoming a metaverse company - How they are leading the way in terms of hardware with Oculus, but how good is there virtual world Facebook Horizon? - Their vision for a seemless and rich online experience that goes far beyond our 2D smartphones - How Epic Games and Fortnite's version of the metaverse differs, including their already awesome experiences such as live gigs attended by millions - Epic Games and The Unreal Engine which looks set to power the photorealistic virtual future and their $1 billion funding round - How Roblox shape up against the competition and their offering, which primarily has captured Gen Z so far - Roblox and their user first creation model, paying creators to build games and experiences - Decentralised worlds built on the blockchain such as Decentraland, why they are fundamentally different and what that means for their future - The multi billion dollar metaverse economy that is just around the corner As always nothing in this episode is financial advice, always do your own research Thank you for subscribing, if you have 30 seconds to leave a rating and a review that is so appreciated. I have a substack newsletter with paid alerts. Early birds can get free access for life, if you sign up before the end of July here : metaverseluke.substack.com Do say hello on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/MetaverseLuke and you can reach out on email at metaversepod@gmail.com Links You can also check out MetaHuman, the beta avatar builder from Unreal Engine here - it's awesome https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/digital-humans

Benjammin is a consultant, advisor, NFT OG and all round lovely guy. He knows the NFT space inside out and is constantly giving great value online. He is one of the first people I followed and I'm still learning from him, this episode does not disappoint.  In this episode of Welcome to the Metaverse, we talk to BenJammin about what criteria he uses to assess an NFT project, how he finds value and what new projects he is most excited about. We also touch on his own debut NFT project called Dizzy Dragons which is launching soon. This episode is absolutely packed with value, I learnt so much and I really hope you enjoy it too! I'd highly recommend you follow BenJammin on twitter here : https://twitter.com/xBenJamminx and social links here : https://linktr.ee/xBenJamminx Shoutout to some awesome projects that he is working on and we mention on this episode, amongst others : Dizzy Dragons, Chicken Derby, TheoNFT, TSRocketFactory and RuumzNFT - all ones to watch. As always, nothing in this episode is financial advice, always do your own research. Hope you enjoy this episode, see you in The Metaverse!

This week we have awesome artist and NFT OG Skye Nicolas on the show, who has a brilliant brain for this space and knows it inside out. I think this is the most value packed episode I've done so far. Skye gives some great advice on how to value projects, where he thinks the space is going next and an insight into how it is all developing in the Metaverse.  I highly recommend you give Skye a follow on twitter here : https://twitter.com/skyenicolas and https://www.instagram.com/skyenicolas | Do check out his brilliant work here too : https://skyenicolas.com/ Chapter Headings  Skye's fine art background and into NFT’s Where the space is at the minute How to assess the value of a project and what Skye is excited about NFT’s and digital art inside the Metaverse and virtual shows Creative Direction and wider events in The Metaverse Online Identity in The Metaverse What is the biggest thing that people aren’t paying attention to in the NFT space? NFT’s practical role in art and the wider world Mass adoption and going mainstream - Gen Z & Roblox - The Digital Asset Mindset Skye’s own work featuring Yat emojis and his unique aesthetic Future Art - Digital art meets the physical world and EDM in a huge festival in Sydney (they are projecting onto the Sydney Opera House) Skye’s advice if you’re new to the NFT space and how to get involved and learn more Where we can find Skye’s work and reach out! Substack The substack is still open to join and for those who sign up as an early bird before the end of July - you will get the premium alerts for free for life - check it out here metaverseluke.substack.com Contact Do reach out and let me know what you think of the show at metaversepod@gmail.com and say hello on twitter : https://twitter.com/MetaverseLuke As always, nothing in this podcast is financial advice, always do your own research. Enjoy this week's episode!

In the last 30 days, Axie Infinity has done over $191 MILLION in sales and has shot to the top of the NFT sales charts. As one of the first 'play to earn' games on the blockchain, you are able to earn crypto just from playing it. Rare individual Axie's are selling for upwards of $100k a piece and are themselves tradable and breedable NFTs. This certainly looks like the next wave within the NFT space and the wider Metaverse. In this episode we dive into what Axie Infinity is all about, how it works and what new blockchain games are yet to launch that you can get in on early. For early alerts on new projects, you can sign up to the newsletter metaverseluke.substack.com - which as an early bird is free for life until the end of July. Do say hello on twitter also : https://www.twitter.com/metaverseluke or reach out on email metaversepod@gmail.com As always this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. I hope you enjoy this episode all about Axie Infinity and the wider Metaverse! Luke

The Bored Ape Yacht Club launched 2 months ago and has taken the NFT world by storm, quickly becoming one of the most popular and lucrative projects to be involved in but why?  In this episode we explore what exactly it is and why it is different from anything we've seen so far. We explore the bigger picture for this project and how the long term vision for Bored Ape Yacht Club transcends from just NFTs, into the Metaverse, the physical world and why it might be the best blueprint for a digital first business in this new space. I now have a newsletter to bring you fast updates on everything that is happening in this space. As an early bird, you can join free for life here : http://www.metaverseluke.substack.com As always do reach out here : metaversepod@gmail.com Thank you for your ratings and reviews they are super appreciated. Nothing in this episode is financial advice as always but I hope you enjoy this chat! Peace X