GameStop NFT partner says video game retailer will be ‘major entrant' to crypto space

Immutable Co-founder & President Robbie Ferguson joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss how GameStop is partnering with Immutable X for a NFT marketplace.

Video Transcript

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BRIAN SOZZI: GameStop has tapped blockchain platform Immutable X to help build on its NFT marketplace. Marketplace is expected to help GameStop diversify away from its core retail store operations and tap into the growing popularity of NFTs. Joining us for more on the tie-up is Immutable co-founder, Robbie Ferguson. Robbie, good to see you here. Thanks for hopping on the show. Help investors understand, first, what you do and what you will be helping GameStop do.

ROBBIE FERGUSON: Absolutely so Immutable has been in this space since 2017. We released the first ever multiplayer game on a blockchain. And what we build is NFT technology for businesses to allow them to create and trade NFTs on the most popular blockchain platform, Ethereum, without paying any transaction fees known as "gas fees" or making sure their carbon impact is completely net neutral and making it incredibly scalable and easy for these businesses to use.

And so, essentially, what we're doing for GameStop is we are the back end of their marketplace, which means that we'll be running all of their trades on top of our software. We'll be creating their NFTs, and we will be helping to onboard hundreds or thousands of game studios. They'll be using our $100 million joint fund to come and build on this technology platform. We, obviously, work with lots of marketplaces, but GameStop is going to be a major, major entrant to this space.

- And Robbie, can you talk to us a little bit about your cryptocurrency? I believe there's going to be a pool, a fund of about $100 million. At least that's the goal to be distributed to developers. How does your token involved in this new marketplace that you're creating?

ROBBIE FERGUSON: Yeah, of course. So it's not the goal, it absolutely is there. And what we're doing is we are dedicating and earmarking $100 million of our Immutable X token, which is dedicated to community incentives. That can be given away to games, developers who apply to GameStop NFT platform.

So what will happen is we will help onboard them and build an NFT business system for their game, and they will distribute their items via GameStop's marketplace, all the while it's being powered by Immutable X's APIs. And the really, really powerful thing about our software is you can sell an item anywhere, so say inside a "Fortnite" game, and that item can be bought from inside GameStop's marketplace because of the way that our order book operates as the shared back end to every single trading venue we power.

BRIAN SOZZI: When do you see this launching?

ROBBIE FERGUSON: Soon. So I think in the 8-K you'll see a time limit, but we see a much more aggressive launch with them.

BRIAN SOZZI: And how do you see-- so once it does launch, looking out, let's say, a year after this marketplace is established, how do you think it will help drive value to a GameStop?

ROBBIE FERGUSON: I mean, it's huge. Like, out of every single industry that has ever emerged in the world, look at the total addressable market of NFTs. It's insane. Nothing has ever emerged so fast going from $100 million in gross marketplace volume in 2020 to over $23 billion in 2021.

And we're talking about one of the largest total addressable markets in history of the world. You have $100 billion worth of in-game items bought by gamers every single year. So not "Call of Duty" copies, but the skins inside "Call of Duty" or the coins inside "Candy Crush," and gamers know none of it.

So GameStop is really positioning themselves here as the NFT marketplace that can come in and be this default gaming platform for everyone to trade their digital assets in the same way that someone like Steam or even the App Store is in the incumbent space in the Web 2 equivalent.

- And, Robbie, this is a almost a one year anniversary of GameStop, the original phenomenon with Wall Street Bets that went on. I think we were having a congressional hearing about this time last year about the whole matter, or about to. But we know the story here. And I'm just wondering because when GameStop kind of pivoted-- and I know you're not inside the company, they became kind of a black box. And Ryan Cohen joined to a lot of fame and fanfare. I'm just wondering if you had any discussions with him personally and how involved the board is in this merger.

ROBBIE FERGUSON: We had discussions with every level of the executive at GameStop, and in quite detail. And I think we've been able to shed a lot more light on what GameStop's strategy is through the podcasts and press releases we've done over the last few days. Obviously, the NFT marketplace is going to be a core part of GameStop's strategy going forward. We're thrilled to be a part of that. And we're also thrilled to bring all of the Immutable's gaming content that we're working with to that marketplace.

BRIAN SOZZI: What's his vision for the company, Robbie? Any sense? When you're putting your company out there alongside, your company's name, your company's rep with a GameStop, which, let's be honest, it has a checkered history here. Have you talked to him on where he sees the company for the next decade?

ROBBIE FERGUSON: Become the default gaming aggregator, become the one stop shop or the ultimate destination by which everyone can come and trade that in-game owned items.

BRIAN SOZZI: All right, we'll leave it there. Immutable X co-founder, Robbie Ferguson. Congrats on this tie-up. Look forward to following the progress.