Solana-based NFT marketplace, Magic Eden, hires a chief gaming officer

Magic Eden, the largest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Solana blockchain, has appointed Chris Akhavan as the chief gaming officer. Akhavan will be the first person to assume this role on the platform.

Magic Eden hires a chief gaming officer

The appointment of Akhavan into this role comes as Magic Eden seeks to focus on Web3 gaming. Akhavan has a load of experience to help him deliver in his new position at the NFT marketplace.

Before joining Magic Eden, Akhavan served as the chief business officer at Forte, a blockchain gaming company. He was also the chief revenue officer at the mobile gaming company Glu Mobile. Electronic Arts later acquired the company for $2.4 billion.

While speaking on his assumption of his new role at Magic Eden, Akhavan said that he would be involved in supporting the efforts made by Magic Eden within the blockchain gaming sector. The platform would also support game developers that want to tap into the infrastructure offered by Magic Eden.

Akhavan also said he was bullish on bringing the Web2 and Web3 gaming ecosystems together. He noted that he would devise “ways to connect into the massive universe of existing Web2 (or traditional) games and offering them smooth on-ramps to gradually introduce Web3 asset ownership into their existing game economies.”

One of the greatest challenges that have faced the Web3 gaming sector, despite the significant growth witnessed in the space, is boosting adoption from traditional gamers and game developers. Therefore, Akhavan’s main role will be helping Magic Eden fill this gap.

Besides being the chief gaming officer at Magic Eden, Akhavan will also continue with his advisory role at Game7. The latter is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that runs a $500 million Web3 gaming fund.

Magic Eden shifts focus to Web3 gaming

Magic Eden is diversifying its focus in the Web3 space. Despite this year’s bear market, the company seems to be paying more attention to Web3 gaming, which has been one of the least affected areas.

In November 2022, Magic Eden announced support for the Polygon blockchain. Polygon is a later-2 scaling solution on the Ethereum blockchain. The Polygon network has become increasingly popular with Web3 game developers.

Magic Eden also launched several initiatives to attract the Polygon community, including unveiling a launchpad and a marketplace on the platform supporting developers who want to add NFTs to their Web3 games. Given these efforts, it explains why Magic Eden is onboarding executives that will help the company realize its Web3 gaming strategies.

Despite this year’s crypto winter, there has been a steady flow of capital into Web3 gaming companies. One of the largest venture capital firms invested in this space in the past year is Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z. The VC spearheaded a $15 million funding round for Roboto Games last month. The investment was part of a $600 million fund launched by a16z in May to fund blockchain gaming projects.