🎮#ICC✖️@ABGAasia #Web3 #Game Weekly News (7.22-7.28)

1️⃣NPC Labs Raises $18M to Scale Gaming on Base Network

NPC Labs (@npclabs_org), a developer looking to build a GameFi ecosystem on the Base (@base) protocol, has closed an $18 million funding round led by Pantera Capital (@PanteraCapital), with participation from Collab+Currency (@Collab_Currency), Sfermion (@Sfermion_), Mirana Ventures (@mirana), Bitscale Capital (@BitscaleCapital), and Mantle EcoFund (@0xMantle). Following this round, NPC Labs' total funding has reached $21 million.

NPC Labs is a Web3 gaming #infrastructure startup founded by three former #Coinbase employees. The company plans to use the proceeds to become a core contributor to https://t.co/2boFhHK6kX, an ecosystem designed to build Web3 games on the Base platform.

2️⃣Bitget to Launch Upland (SPARKLET) on Launchpool

Bitget (@bitgetglobal) will launch a new round of the Launchpool project, Upland (@UplandMe) (#SPARKLET), on July 24, with a total prize pool of 7 million SPARKLET. This round of #Launchpool features three staking pools: the BGB pool, with an individual staking limit of 40,000 BGB; the SPARKLET pool, with an individual staking limit of 8 million SPARKLET; and a newly added BGB pool exclusive to new users, with an individual staking limit of 1,000 BGB. The staking period will be open from July 24 at 21:00 (UTC+8) to August 3 at 21:00 (UTC+8).

Launched in 2019, Upland is an immersive #Layer 1 gaming platform, and SPARKLET is Upland’s native utility #token.

3️⃣Telegram CEO: Catizen Boasts Over 26 Million Players, Earns $16 Million Through In-App Purchases

Telegram (@telegram) CEO Pavel Durov announced on his Telegram channel, "Catizen (@CatizenAI) is a mini game on Telegram with over 26 million players. The game has already earned $16 million from in-app purchases and donated 1% of it to rescue stray cats. Catizen introduced millions of people to #blockchain, because it uses TON-based smart contracts for its in-game rewards. Their team also built tools for other developers to easily launch their games on Telegram and TON (@ton_blockchain)."

4️⃣Binance Labs Invests in Catizen Issuance Platform PLUTO Studio

Binance Labs announced leading an investment round for Pluto Studio (@PlutoVisionLabs), the game development studio behind Telegram-based Web3 game Catizen (@CatizenAI), though the specific amount has not been disclosed. The funds raised will be used to support the development of the Catizen mini-program and game engine.

5️⃣Arbitrum "Gaming Catalyst Program" Election Voting Begins, Runs Until August 1

Arbitrum (@arbitrum) has announced that the Gaming Catalyst Program Elections have officially begun and will run for two weeks until August 1.

17 strong candidates have expressed interest, and the top 3 candidates will be selected for the GCP Council, where they will contribute to the development of the #Arbitrum gaming ecosystem.