GameStop plans to launch its own marketplace for non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) and is co-creating an “up to $100 million” fund for game developers who use it. This marketplace will be GameStop’s move from being a popular me stock to being a company that dabbles with cryptocurrency and Web3 tech. However, it could also cause the fury of gamers who strongly oppose NFTs.

The new GameStop NFT marketplace will launch in the latter part of this year. It is built on Immutable X which is a platform based upon the popular Ethereum cryptocurrency blockchain. Designed by Immutable, the company behind the NFT trading card game Gods Unchained, Immutable X is intended to mitigate the biggest drawbacks of Ethereum: its massive energy consumption and the high associated “gas fees,” which can add to any transaction. The protocol combines hundreds of thousands of sale records into a single transaction that’s written to the Ethereum blockchain; Immutable promises to make up for the environmental costs it does incur by paying for carbon offsets.

Immutable’s existing partnerships are supposed to give the new GameStop initiative a boost since companies that already use Immutable X will be able to feature their NFTs on the marketplace. Immutable and GameStop have also partnered to create the developer fund. Immutable X can also be used by non-gaming-oriented partners like TikTok , GameStop’s Marketplace is designed to allow you to sell and buy in-game assets as blockchain tokens. GameStop has examples of digital real property, weapons and skins.

GameStop previously signaled its interest in blockchain tech last year, advertising for a “head of Web3 gaming” as well as a variety of NFT-based jobs. NFTs can be used to verify ownership of in-game objects and allow players to trade them outside of an approved marketplace such as an in-game auctionhouse. Some games that are “play-to earn” such as Axie infinity use NFTs and cryptocurrency to manage an in-game economy. This translates into real income for players .. But their benefits are sometimes oversold — particularly claims that they will let players carry items from one game to another, a possibility that’s difficult and often undesirable for many other reasons.

While some companies, particularly Ubisoft, have forged ahead with NFT gaming despite criticism, others have canceled plans for NFTs linked with games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and Worms. That’s happened partly due to criticism from players but also a lack of enthusiasm from developers — who responded overwhelmingly negatively to the phenomenon in a recent survey. GameStop could avoid the backlash from studios and publishers that has followed their exploration of NFTs by launching with buy in from blockchain-native gaming.