GM

Another day, another set of anime NFT announcements.

They can't keep getting away with this.

In today’s edition:

• Yu-Gi-Oh! publisher is jumping into NFTs

• The Top 25

• 4 fresh drops

Links for the Top 25 drops are HERE.

Did you know?

We have a premium pass that gives you access to a directory of every drop we cover, complete with detailed information on how to get on every whitelist (including those underrated ones that aren’t already full).

And for those curatooors out there, you can get free NFTs just by finding drops that end up on the Mint or Watch list.

Lastly, hang with me and the MoS team in a private discord with weekly voice chats. The vibes are great.

Would you like to be featured in Mint or Skip like the above ☝️ ?

Yu-Gi-Oh! publisher is jumping into NFTs

Context

Konami, the game publisher behind Yu-Gi-Oh! and Castlevania, announced yesterday that they’re launching a blockchain game called Project Zircon.

All we know so far is that this game will “provide customers with a new co-creation experience by utilizing blockchain technology”.

Their press release also confirms that it’ll involve NFT trading.

More details will be released in their Discord on September 13, followed by an official unveiling at the Tokyo Game Show on September 21.

Our take

Blessed be the Asian game publishers, for they will inherit the world of blockchain gaming.

This year we’ve seen a flurry of announcements from Korean/Japanese brands launching NFT games:

• Square Enix with Symbiogenesis

• Nexon with Maplestory Universe

• Com2uS with Summoners War: Chronicles 

And now Konami…with whatever Project Zircon is.

This has been in the works for a while.

Konami actually filed for the trademark “Project Zircon” back in March. Zircon is a name that pops up in several Konami titles: as a jewel in the Castlevania series and as a monster card (Zirconia) in Yu-Gi-Oh!.

But the image they posted looks like new IP to me, although I’m not a Konami nerd so if you’ve seen these faces before feel free to correct me.

Originally people weren’t even sure this was a game – partly because Konami also has product lines in non-gaming verticals like fitness and banking.

But now we know that it is, in fact, a game. And more importantly, it’s the publisher’s first NFT title.

The announcement was posted from a new-ish Twitter account yesterday (that still has roughly 1,000 followers) and reposted by the official Konami Japanese account.

Both announcements were in Japanese, hence why it’s still flying under the radar on NFT Twitter.

Shout out to the scouts in the Mint or Skip Discord for catching this early 🫡

NOTE: These drops are lightly curated. Our only requirement is that they have recognizable founders. As usual, DYOR. To learn more go here.

The Beasties

Arc8, a web3 mobile games platform owned by Animoca Brands, just launched The Beasties, a collection of free 3D avatars available on their app.

Although the launch is technically today, we might not see these onchain for a bit. According to this, each Beastie starts as an egg that you have to “feed” by interacting on the app. Once it reaches the highest level, the egg hatches and mints as a Beast, yielding in-game perks.

Loyalty programs for all.

The World of Meera

The World of Meera is a charity drop from amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) bringing together traditional and NFT artists.

In partnership with minting platform Fair.xyz, the collection comprises a limited set of designs from mysterious artist Momomo and well-known web3 IPs like Pudgy Penguins and y00ts. A cast of famous personalities including the likes of Jeff Koons and Kendall Jenner are curating it.

All proceeds benefit amfAR.

SPACE GIRL Vtuber

Breaking News: An anime NFT project will actually broadcast anime to a wide audience starting this December. Well, sort of…

The Japan NFT Museum (owned by Neoverse) recently announced they’re starting a year-long series of animation broadcasts at large scale venues in Tokyo. They’ll feature the museum’s official characters in a short music video, alongside official character-themed songs.

Among these characters is SPACE GIRL, for which they will be releasing a free celebratory airdrop of her Vtuber design (requires Twitter engagement to enter).

Moca ID

In addition to the recent announcement of a $20 million raise, Animoca Brands’s Mocaverse also teased the launch of Moca ID: a non-transferrable NFT collection that will allow you to create a username in their ecosystem, which enables a loyalty system that rewards user engagement.

I expect this to have an infinite supply and accessible pricing, but we’ll have to wait on more details for now.