William Murray “Trip” Hawkins III, the founder of Electronic Arts (EA), is leaving Web2 behind and joining Barcelona-based startup Games for a living as its new chief strategy officer.
Along with joining the company’s board, Trip Hawkins will play a crucial role in driving mass adoption and the “understanding and adoption of Web3 games overall,” according to a press release shared with CoinDesk.
Hawkins is excited to be part of Games for a living’s journey and has said that he will use new and emerging technologies to create exciting and immersive experiences for gamers. He expects blockchains to be widely used by content creators in the near future and plans to help Games for a living take advantage of the technology to enhance game performance and value for players.
Games for a living CEO, Manel Sort, has previously worked with Hawkins at Digital Chocolate. Sort has a breadth of Web2 gaming experience, having held previous roles at Activision Blizzard and as an adviser on games such as Candy Crush.
Web3 gaming investments continue to grow despite the crypto market downturn
Investments and hiring in the Web3 gaming space continue to grow, despite the broader crypto market downturn. Pantera Capital invested $10 million in Metaverse Game Worldwide Webb, according to a press release shared on Thursday. Gaming platform Ajuna also raised $5 million in new financing this month.
Earlier this month, Square Enix, the company behind popular games such as Final Fantasy, announced a partnership with Polygon to create a non-fungible token (NFT) art project. The move comes as the company looks to tap into the growing demand for NFTs and blockchain-based gaming.
Games for a living is the latest company to make a move in the Web3 gaming space, with Hawkins’ appointment highlighting the company’s ambitions to drive mass adoption of Web3 games. As Web3 gaming continues to gain traction, more companies are expected to enter the space and offer innovative solutions to meet the growing demand from gamers.