YouTube's head of gaming, Ryan Wyatt, has announced that he will be leaving the streaming and video channel platform to join Polygon Studios. The news comes just as YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announces the possibility of integrating NFTs into the platform.
Ryan Wyatt will be the new CEO of Polygon Studios, a space created by Polygon to focus on game development blockchain decentralized, which help it position itself as the ideal ecosystem for NFTs, the Metaverse and Web3.
On his Twitter account, Wyatt announced that he will be leaving his 7-year position as YouTube's head of gaming to join the Polygon Studios team, as its new general manager. The news, labeled by Wyatt as "bittersweet," comes just as YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announces the possibility of integrating the studios into the game. NFT to the video platform.
Wyatt's appointment as CEO of Polygon Studios suggests that the company is preparing to strengthen its involvement in blockchain-based games, which have gained widespread popularity and interest in the past year with the introduction of game mechanics such as Play to Earn (P2E) and NFTs.
Wyatt has a long history in the world of video games, becoming a great support for players during his work on YouTube. However, the new director of Polygon's blockchain gaming division stressed that despite YouTube's recent and growing interest in entering the crypto and NFT world, it is time to start a new path.
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Ryan Wyatt's role at Polygon Studios
In his new role as CEO of Polygon Studios, Wyatt will focus on growing the developer ecosystem and bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3. Wyatt noted that he will use investment and marketing and support for developers and creators to grow Polygon’s digital ecosystem, positioning the blockchain as the ideal place for innovation.
“I will lead the Polygon Studios organization across games, entertainment, fashion, news, sports and more.”
Polygon has been strengthening its ecosystem and growing its leadership in gaming with important partnerships in the industry. At the beginning of 2021, the game development company Animoca Brands revealed his alianza with Polygon to implement REVV Token within the blockchain. Likewise, Polygon has been investing in protocols and companies such as PlotX y nCoreGames, to boost the growth of its GameFi ecosystem to a broader user base globally. Last week, Polygon developers hinted at a collaboration with IndiaGG, announcing a major launch for the gaming community in India.
Gamers and NFTs
According to one poll According to a report published by Game Developers Conference, NFTs are lacking popularity among game developers and studios, mainly due to their high energy consumption. However, although there are currently few video game companies that have fully entered the crypto world, Wyatt points out that it is only a matter of time before NFTs and cryptocurrencies begin to experience widespread adoption within this powerful industry.
“We are going through a tectonic shift in the [games] industry over the next five years”, Wyatt noted in a Twitter post last September. “There has never been a more exciting time to work in games. So many people find joy in it, clichés and stereotypes are breaking down, and the convergence of technologies makes it fascinating.”, wrote.
Currently, video game development companies such as Animoca Brands, Gala Games, Yuga Labs, Yield Guild Games (YGG), Epic Games, Atari, Prota Games, among others, are already developing new games based on blockchain, NFTs and P2E.
YouTube opens the doors to NFTs
Wyatt's departure coincides with YouTube's interest in embracing NFTs to help its content creators capitalize on new technologies. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki published a letter titled “Letter from Susan: Our 2022 Priorities”, indicating that the video platform is looking to the future, following everything that happens in Web3 as a source of inspiration to continue innovating.
In the letter, Wojcicki acknowledged the opportunities and advantages that new technologies offer to increase the connection between creators and their followers. Specifically, Wojcicki referred to the cryptocurrencies, , NFTs and DAO as emerging technologies capable of empowering their creators through new and expanded value opportunities.
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