Retro game publisher Atari is releasing 500 limited-edition physical patch packs through DYLI, a new blockchain-powered collectibles marketplace built atop Abstract Chain, a soon-to-launch Ethereum layer-2 scaling network.
The drop marks the iconic gaming pioneer’s latest step into Web3 commerce.
Each pack will include one of seven new Atari patches or two vintage designs from the 1980s, the company announced on X.
The packs are priced at $15 each, with select packs set to contain bonus items such as stickers and gift cards, with one pack featuring a special item signed by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell.
The release builds on Atari’s expanding blockchain-related initiatives, which have seen the company explore various Web3 projects since at least 2018 in a bid to revamp its brand for a 21st-century audience.
“Partner drops will not just be about dropping cool stuff or giving creators the best tools in the biz,” Alex Needelman, founder of DYLI, wrote on X. “They’re about onboarding the next million users.”
The patch collection launches next week, with interested collectors encouraged to sign up ahead of the release.
Why blockchain?
DYLI (Do You Like It?) aims to leverage its drop feature of physical goods to ramp up user adoption of its Abstract Chain-powered marketplace. The new platform claims to utilize blockchain “to ensure authenticity,” helping collectors connect with creators.
In a separate post to X in December, Needelman confirmed that “every product dropped on DYLI is a tradable redeemable non-fungible token,” with a secondary marketplace on the platform allowing users to cash in on both physical and digital goods.
To facilitate that process, DLYI accounts include an integrated wallet for transactions, according to a company webpage.
For blockchain users, the DYLI wallet is an externally owned account powered by Privy. It supports exports for use with external wallet managers but is limited to USDC and in-app ERC-1155 tokens within the platform.
All transactions are gas-free, with DYLI covering fees through Abstract’s native paymasters, the company claims.
Atari and Web3
The gaming industry’s embrace of Web3 has seen an unexpected champion emerge from its history, as Atari, the pioneering force behind home video gaming, continues to position itself at the intersection of nostalgia and innovation.
When Atari was founded in 1972 by Bushnell, there was no such thing as a video game. It took over a year for the term to catch on, with the term “video game” appearing in a BusinessWeek piece.
Decades later, Atari continues to pioneer. Atari X, the company’s crypto initiative, launched in 2022. With it, the company consolidated its crypto and NFT ventures under a single banner.
That move would’ve seemed improbable during the company’s arcade heyday.
The transformation hasn’t been without its hurdles, though, as seen by the stumbles of its initial ATRI token and the regulatory issues that have complicated its inception.
Despite facing these challenges, Atari continued with its crypto partnerships, working with heavyweights like Coinbase and The Sandbox to bring classic titles like Asteroids and Breakout through the Onchain Arcade initiative led by Base last year.
Where other legacy gaming companies have approached Web3 with caution, Atari has embraced it with the same pioneering spirit that defined its early years in Silicon Valley.
“Web3 is a clear avenue of pushing the boundaries and what we believe is going to be a foundational element of the future of all tech, not only gaming,” Tyler Drewitz, a director at Atari, said in a previous interview with Decrypt.
“We’re legacy, we’re pop culture, we have a really good onboarding ramp,” Drewitz said.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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