GameStop’s latest job postings share an inside-look at their plans in the metaverse, including blockchain, Web3, and hints towards a futuristic NFT marketplace.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, GameStop isn’t holding back.
GMEdd.com’s #gme-tracker bot has published GameStop’s latest daily job postings since early June 2021, even picking up on some blunders in September. Sorry.
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On October 25th, GameStop shared 8 new job listings for 3 different roles within their NFT division, featuring descriptions and requirements detailing the company’s ambitions in the rapidly-evolving industry.
Heard from the grapevine before grapevine
The jobs were posted as remote working opportunities based out of the windy city of Seattle, Washington, the home of GameStop in Grapevine, Texas, and Ryan Cohen’s very own South Florida.
Wow, who would have thought?
We would’ve thought.
GMEdd first publicized GameStop’s corporate expansion into South Florida in May, and Seattle in July. GameStop confirmed the Florida offices in September, and Seattle-based employees have since shared images on Twitter, verifying GameStop’s new grasp on the tech hub of The Pacific Northwest.
GameStop’s latest job listings call to hire a Director of Product Marketing – NFT Platform, Sr Software Engineer – NFT Platform, and a Product Owner – Head of Web3 Gaming.
Three new nifty roles within the ranks for GameStop Corp.
Titles are great, but what do the jobs entail? Take a look at the job descriptions and some of the requests of applicants, pulled right from GameStop Careers.
Director of Product Marketing, NFT Platform
GameStop’s Job Description
Have you built products from scratch? Have you launched new initiatives and grown them to billions in revenue? If so, we want to talk to you. GameStop is looking for a unique individual who is a blend of Product Marketer and Product Owner to help take out NFT platform to the next level. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success in a high pressure challenging environments, is skilled at developing partnerships internally and externally, and has delivered results in record time.
GameStop’s Job Responsibilities and Nice to haves
Senior Software Engineer, NFT Platform
GameStop’s Job Description
GameStop is looking for a Sr. Software Engineer to join our NFT/Blockchain team. This role will be remote and will collaborate with a team of engineers, product managers, designers, and business partners distributed across the U.S. In this role, you will help design, build, and maintain highly scalable services and core API components, powering products and features that delight millions of GameStop customers. The ideal candidate will be customer-obsessed, highly collaborative, and passionate about creating customer experiences that are both frictionless and delightful. A passion for gaming, crypto and e-commerce are a plus!
GameStop’s Job Responsibilities and nice to haves
Product Owner, Head of Web3 Gaming
GameStop’s Job Description
Have you built products from scratch? Have you launched new initiatives and grown them to billions in revenue? Have you dabbled in the new Web3 world? Are you a gamer to your core? If so, you belong here with us.
GameStop is looking for a unique individual who can help accelerate the future of gaming and commerce. In this future, games are the places to go, and play is driven by the things you bring. Future creators won’t just build games but also the components, characters, and equipment. Blockchains will power the commerce underneath. An ideal candidate will have experience across several domains in gaming, content creation, partnerships, game design/development/mechanics, and a general understanding and experience with Ethereum, NFTs, and blockchain based gaming platforms.
GameStop’s Job Responsibilities and nice to haves
crypto punk? Welcome aboard.
GameStop states that applicants would be nice to have NFT marketplace experience and knowledge of crypto, Ethereum and Ethereum Layer 2 products for both the Director of Product Marketing and the Senior Software Engineer positions.
Hiring individuals with NFT marketplace and Ethereum Layer 2 experience shouldn’t be a surprise considering clues point toward GameStop launching an NFT marketplace with Ethereum Layer 2-based platform Loopring as early as Q4 2021.
GameStop’s Director of Product Marketing, NFT Platform job position
GameStop states that the Director of Product Marketing will be responsible for the development and execution of the marketing strategy for GameStop’s NFT platform including product go-to-market, creator acquisition & partnerships, and consumer awareness & product adoption.
The Director of Product Marketing is also asked to think big about the future of NFTs, and how they can bring creators, partners, and gamers into the ecosystem more quickly.
Power to the players, Power to the creators, Power to the collectors
The career posting for Senior Software Engineer applicants states that the role will help design, build, and maintain highly scalable services and core API components, powering products and features that delight millions of GameStop customers.
The Senior Software Engineer, NFT, position also asks applicants to be passionate about building innovative customer experiences.
Blockchain will power the commerce underneath
Future creators won’t just build games…
GameStop’s Head of Web3 Gaming posting reads more like a tech startup’s investor pitch deck than a job listing.
In GameStop’s envisioned future, games are the places to go, and play is driven by the things you bring.
This is beginning to sound bigger than any NFT marketplace we’ve seen yet.
An ideal candidate will have experience across several domains in gaming, content creation, partnerships, game design/development/mechanics, and a general understanding and experience with Ethereum, NFTs, and blockchain based gaming platforms.
When an entire game is built on a blockchain, every interaction within the game is stored and verifiable as new blocks. Most games that utilize blockchain currently only use NFTs to represent in-game assets, allowing players to buy, trade, and sell skins, weapons, pets, and more for real-world money.
Valve, the parent company of Steam, recently updated its distribution onboarding guidelines to ban any applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
Blockchain gaming is largely uncharted territory by current tech giants, with Valve’s PC gaming platform Steam quietly banning games featuring NFTs and Blockchain implementations.
Microsoft and Sony, who GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen used to follow, haven’t even begun to express interest in the disruptive technology.
“Billions, with a b.”
GameStop goes as far as to ask industry thought leaders who have built products from scratch and grown them to billions in revenue to apply for this role. Hopefully it pays well.
Not only is the job description informative towards GameStop’s conceptual future, so are the listed job responsibilities.
The job responsibilities of GameStop’s Head of Web3 Gaming.
Web3, in the context of Ethereum, refers to decentralized apps that run on the blockchain. These are apps that allow anyone to participate without monetizing their personal data.
[You will] drive GameStop’s future growth engine by building relationships with the newest, and largest game publishers in the world
GameStop’s Head of Web3 Gaming establishing relationships with the newest and largest game publishers in the world would position the company to change the way gamers purchase their digital games, with the potential to utilize blockchain to solve used digital.
The Head of Web3 Gaming would also be in charge of leading integrations with Ethereum Layer 2 environments.
So what?
The job listings posted on October 25th hint that GameStop is trying to be the first to establish a mass-adopted cross-publisher and cross-platform NFT marketplace for digital assets.
This marketplace will likely utilize Loopring’s zkRollup Layer 2 protocol on Ethereum and explore all blockchain-based opportunities in the global gaming space.
The gaming retailer is looking to deeply understand possibilities for gaming within Web3, which decentralists consider the “Internet of the Future,” utilizing blockchain to provide a safe, secure, and incentivized experience for everyone.
It is clear that GameStop is operating a stealth start-up within the aspiring tech company, and investors should be enthusiastic to see what may be unveiled.
Sources: GameStop Careers 1, 2, 3, Bitcoin.com
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Henry says:
Much informative, thanks for sharing!
Voodoo360 says:
Are you ready “GME’s team of players!”
From all around the world….let’s go…..power to all of GME!
Anonymous says:
nice work
El Capitan says:
Another quality post, thanks for tying this all together! Very excited to see Cohen’s vision come to fruition.
Gunne says:
More promising/gutsy than i originally thought.
Billions and billions and billions, sounds good.
Thanks for the DD, Toast.