The face of the popular non-fungible token (NFT) collection Pudgy Penguins, will be integrated as a character on Pixelverse’s mini-game on Telegram.
On July 16, Pixelverse announced that it would introduce the Pudgy Penguin character “Pudgy” into the game, joining other crypto favorites such as Doge from the Dogecoin (DOGE) memecoin and Mew, a character that represents a Solana memecoin.
The integration allows players to play the character in the Pixelverse game, followed by the official release of the Pudgy Penguins game in 2025.
NFT market downturn in Q2
In the second quarter of 2024, the sales volume for NFTs declined by 45% compared to the first quarter of the year. Digital collection data tracker CryptoSlam showed a significant volume drop for NFTs, going from $4.1 billion in Q1 to $2.24 billion in Q2. This represented the lowest quarter for NFTs since the third quarter of 2023.
While the NFT market is down, some experts argued that the space is experiencing a correction cycle. Anoir Houmou, founder and CEO of the Sui-backed video engagement platform RECRD, said that trends indicated a market maturing after its explosive growth in the last few years.
Related: Pudgy Penguins enables access to its virtual world with Web3 domains
Gaming continues to spur Web3 adoption amid lower volumes
Despite the lower sales volumes for NFTs, Pixelverse and Pudgy Penguins remain some of the biggest names in Web3 gaming and NFTs. The Telegram mini-game PixelTap reportedly reached over 50 million users in the first month since its launch.
Kori Leon, the co-founder of Pixelverse, stressed the importance of building communities for Web3 projects. Leon explained:
“Over the years, we’ve witnessed the rise of numerous infrastructure projects that started with grand promises but failed to attract users beyond the Web3 community. For the ecosystem to thrive, it is crucial for projects to focus on what makes them successful: community, culture and distribution.”
The executive believes that projects that neglect community, culture, and distribution will falter in the next cycle. Leon explained that users are “weary of empty promises” from the founders who have failed to deliver on their visions.
The Pudgy Penguins NFT collection has recorded an all-time sales volume of almost $400 million, according to CryptoSlam. Despite the NFT market downturn, the collection continues to lead Ethereum-based NFTs, with a sales volume of $12 million in the last month.
In May, Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Schnetzler claimed that the collection sold one million plushies based on the NFT collection in stores across the globe.
In July, the TON-based viral game Hamster Kombat reached 239 million users in less than three months. On July 4, Telegram founder Pavel Durov praised the game’s success and noted that it could potentially onboard 200 million users into blockchain technology.
Magazine: Pudgy Penguins GIFs top 10B views, CEO sets sights on Disney, Hello Kitty: NFT Creator
