*By Jacqueline Corba*
Video games and esports are front and center at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week, and they've caught the eye of entrepreneur and digital advertising exec Gary Vaynerchuk.
"I have been lurking in the grass, as they say," VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk told Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg in an interview Monday, alluding to the uber-popular game Fortnite.
The title dominated conversation at last week's E3, and the broader video game industry is looking to capitalize off that interest at Cannes Lions.
Interactive entertainment company Activision Blizzard [positioned its tent](https://twitter.com/jonsteinberg/status/1008380696052846592) front and center at the festival, an apparent effort to lure more advertisers to the industry.
And Vaynerchuk sees the appeal. He told Cheddar he plans to have 40 of the top 500 players on Twitch's game streaming platform come to his office in three weeks for a jam session.
"I have an enormous Twitch studio right outside my office. I speak to Ninja once a week, if not four times a week," said Vaynerchuck.
Ninja, whose real name is Tyler Blevins, is one of the biggest celebrities in the gaming world, with 8.5 million Twitch followers. In an interview from E3, the Fortnite champion told Cheddar's Alyssa Julya Smith he thinks the game is ready to take the eSports stage.
"They are just consistently updating and upgrading it," [said Ninja.](https://cheddar.com/videos/ninja-on-fortnites-future-in-esports) "No one really does that."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/gary-vaynerchuk-launches-one37pm-brand).
Howard Yu, LEGO professor of management and innovation at IMD Business School and author of "Leap: How to Thrive in a World Where Everything Can Be Copied," joined Cheddar to discuss the mania surrounding the concept of the metaverse. He particularly noted how companies in the retailing sector like Nike are leveraging it. "I think metaverse really opens up a window for brands to think about how can they, ongoing-wise, engage with the consumer, engage with the target audience, so their brand continues to stay refreshed in the changing environment," Yu said.
2021 was no walk in the park for the tech sector. However, despite the industry dealing with worldwide chip shortage and supply chain crisis, many companies managed to push innovations forward. All these innovations are also expected to accelerate its coolness in 2022. Editor at Large at CNET Ian Sherr, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The mobile brokerage app, Tornado, says its the first investing platform that combines next-level tools and resources with hyper-tailored investing news. The more you engage within the app, the more intelligent of an investor you'll be, and the more you'll gain from the experience. 'Learn and earn,' the latest feature of the app serves to do just that, as it pays users to learn how to invest. CEO and co-founder of Tornado, Bernard George, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Digital assets are the gifts that keep on giving, as they have the potential to make people serious cash if it's value increases over time. These gifts are ultimately just investments, in the form of art. Sunil Singhvi, chief business development officer at Rarible, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Carlo and Baker preview President Biden's address to the nation as Omicron becomes the new dominant Covid strain. Plus, Trump gets booed for getting his booster and the White House gets a new puppy.
