Former Take-Two CEO's New Blockchain Game Publisher Wants the Next 'Grand Theft Auto'
*By Chloe Aiello*
Former Take-Two CEO Kelly Sumner is looking for the next big game. But rather than investing hundreds of millions, his blockchain-based video game publisher Planet Digital Partners is targeting mid-level games often ignored by big publishers.
"Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Activision ($ATVI), etc., they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a game, expecting to be ... getting billions. And the kind of middle, where there's sort of really good, exciting games, isn't there," Sumner told Cheddar Friday.
Planet Digital launched a Security Token Offering on Thursday with the goal of democratizing game development and funding alternative games. The company is offering 38 million "Rocket Tokens" at $1 per token to accredited investors. Sumner said he expects investors will be paid dividends as soon as the first quarter of 2020.
"This raise will allow us to actually go out and find maybe the next 'Grand Theft Auto,' maybe the next 'Guitar Hero,' because they started off ー not as billion dollar franchises ー but they became billion dollar franchises," Sumner said.
For investors, the token launch represents investment in a portfolio of games. Three games in the pipeline for distribution so far are Cabela's "The Hunt," "Cooking Mama," and Bass Pro "The Strike." Sumner admitted they aren't games he would necessarily play, but said they have a promising market.
"We're not trying to get the next soccer game or the next 'Call of Duty,' etc. We are looking at the opportunity of investing $5 million into a game, $10 million into a game ー a game that will have revenues of $50 million plus, where our competitors ... won't even get out of bed for that," he said.
Sumner also said blockchain offers opportunities for Planet Digital, not only in funding and security, but in interactive game-play. He said there's potential to introduce interactive trading features between game players and game watchers, which could unveil a whole new element to game play.
"Blockchain brings some really interesting opportunities," he said.
The Supreme Court will be hearing arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health on Wednesday over a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Jimmy Hoover, the Supreme Court editor-at-large for Law360, joined Cheddar to break down the momentous legal fight. "This is the biggest abortion case at the Supreme Court in 30 years," he said. "It is a … a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade."
In recent years, extreme weather events like flooding and wildfires have become more frequent, and more severe - and scientists say global warming is to blame. Climate crises could leave people in need of help, and that's where Global Rescue steps in. The crisis response firm employs former Navy Seals and Army Rangers to rescue travelers from climate-related emergencies. Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Cloud-based AI-powered writing assistant Grammarly recently raised $200 million in a funding round that values the company at $13 billion. The funding will be used to help Grammarly achieve its goal of becoming more ubiquitous, as the company says it wants to be the go-to writing assistant for wherever people type. Grammarly also says it aims to solve what it calls one of the most critical problems facing people and businesses today -- ineffective communication. Grammarly global head of product Rahul Roy-Chowdhury joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Jennifer Lotito, president and COO at the non-profit (RED), joined Cheddar to discuss the CODE (RED) campaign as the organization looks to expand its mission to support both AIDS and COVID-19 relief. She explained that people can get involved in the campaign for Giving Tuesday and ahead of World AIDS Day by shopping (RED) branded products and even using credit card rewards points to add their own support. Lotito also pointed out that COVID-19 has also impacted HIV testing as people avoid clinics out of fear of the other pandemic.
The Movember Foundation is celebrating the end of Movember, the annual fundraising event that involves the growing of moustaches as a way to draw attention to men's health issues, including suicide prevention and prostate cancer. Mark Hedstrom, the U.S. executive director for the Movember Foundation, joined Cheddar to discuss the organization's goals and the fundraising partnerships it's secured. He also talked about normalizing conversations around men's mental health.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Dr. Dorothy Kim, Assistant Professor of Medieval Literature at Brandeis University, discusses the roots that modern-day white supremacy has in Viking history, despite its many factual inaccuracies; Vikings are often misunderstood and while their brutality is what's shown in popular culture, there are many misconceptions about who they really were. Philip Parker, Historian and author of 'The Northmen's Fury', helps break down the true Viking history.; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Viking Women.'
Dr. Dorothy Kim, Assistant Professor of Medieval Literature at Brandeis University, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the roots that modern-day white supremacy has in Viking history, despite its many factual inaccuracies.
Vikings are often misunderstood and while their brutality is what's shown in popular culture, there are many misconceptions about who they really were. Philip Parker, Historian and author of 'The Northmen's Fury', joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the true Viking history.
