What is Petaverse Network?
Developed by Tiny Rebel Games, an award-winning developer of games and AR, Petaverse Network is the first cross-chain platform creating the next generation of ‘immortal’ virtual pets across the metaverse. These virtual companions will be by your side across your digital existence — in games, augmented and virtual reality, on wearables and social. According to the creators of Petaverse Network, these pets will evolve based on the nature of their specific ‘DNA’ and the nature of bonding with you.
All in all, the Petaverse Network is on a mission to design and build ‘the Open Standard for digital pets; an interoperable data solution for creating permanent digital companions across the metaverse.’
Team Behind Petaverse Network
Petaverse Network was conceptualized by Susan Cummings and Lee Cummings with backgrounds from 2K Games and Rockstar respectively.
The inspiration for this project came to Susan and Lee when they thought about the virtual pets loved and lost over time… Neopets, Tamagotchi …. The twenty-four million Nintendogs that were purchased, enjoyed, and then abandoned as technology advanced.
As one of the first traditional game developers diving into web3, the team creating the Petaverse Network has over 70 years of collective games, AR and VR development experiences. They have also been selected by Qualcomm as an early access partner for Snapdragon Spaces and by Deutsche Telekom for their iOS Innovation Hubraum Program.
Alongside the core team is a comprehensive board of advisors including Kristian Sergestrale (Super Evil Megacorp), Sebastien Borget (The Sandbox), Perrin Kaplan (Zebra Partners) Terry Schussler (Deutsche Telekom), Joe Eagan (Polychain Capital) and Anil Hansjee (Fabric Ventures) and serial game industry entrepreneur Nick Button-Brown.
Petaverse Network building an open standard for digital pets
The Petaverse Network combines gaming, XR, and Web 3.0 to define an open standard for digital pets in the metaverse.
Petaverse network allows other projects to connect and build new experiences along with the virtual pets. This is why, the creators of Petaverse Network call it an ‘Open Standard’ for digital pets.
In this regard, Petaverse Network recently partnered with blockchain software company Curvegrid. The partnership allows Petaverse Network to further accelerate its cross-chain and interoperability capabilities, as well as its first Shopify store integration; delivered through a custom smart contract supported by Curvegrid’s NFTeapot Shopify minting app and MultiBaas blockchain middleware.
Petaverse Network & Polygon
The virtual pets of Petaverse Network resides on the Polygon blockchain.
Susan told AlexaBlockchain that the platform will expand support for Ethereum and other blockchains in the future.
By supporting Polygon’s layer-2 scaling platform built on the Ethereum blockchain, Petaverse Network enables developers to build decentralized, easy-to-use applications with low transaction costs.
Petaverse Network is also supported by Polygon Studios, an organization owned and operated by Polygon which supports web3 projects through investment, marketing, developers and community support.
Petaverse Network is backed by 26 investors including Animoca, Dapper Labs, and Fabric
Petaverse Network recently closed a $7 million seed round led by Fabric Ventures.
The investment includes an impressive list of investors including Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, CMT Digital, Sfermion, Spin Master, Skyvision, Fenbushi, A41, Fourth Revolution Capital, Double Peak, Pirata, 6th Man, Ready Player DAO, Triangle Capital, and Sterling Capital.
Cats coming first
Petaverse Network started with cats and plans to launch other pets in the future.
Why cats first? “It has to be the cats only,” said Petaverse Network CEO Susan Cummings, in an interview with AlexaBlockchain.
Susan mentioned CryptoKitties, the digital cats, as grandfather of todays virtual pets.
In fact, It was the emergence of Cryptokitties which gave birth to a new NFT-based project classification, which people now call digital collectibles.
What makes virtual pets really exciting?
Apart from being a virtual companion for the metaverse or the digital universe, there are some really tangible advantages of virtual pets.
Susan says: “We can remove all the negative aspect of real pets, such as fear of losing one day or taking care of the pets. moreover, it will help people who have allergy but want to own a pet.”
To date, evidence undoubtedly shows that interacting with animals can have a range of benefits to our mental and physical health – though it’s not entirely sure what is causing these benefits.
Pets & Pandemic
Over 50% of households in the UK are estimated to own at least one pet. And, since the outbreak of COVID-19, there’s been an unprecedented increase in animal adoptions and purchases, as people seek animal companionship to tackle feelings of isolation and anxiety. While many report that having a pet has been supportive to their mental health, research on the benefits of pet ownership and mental health still remain inconclusive.
The pandemic has also changed how we interact with our pets. At the University of York, co-authors Dr Elena Ratschen and Dr Emily Shoesmith conducted a large survey of 5,926 people (5,323 pet owners, and 603 non-owners) which investigated human-animal relationships during the UK’s first lockdown. The study found that nearly 90% of pet owners reported their pet had helped them to cope better emotionally during lockdown.
There are also concerns over increased relinquishment, rehoming, or abandonment of pets – for example if the owner becomes unable to care for their pet due to financial reasons, or if they don’t have the time to look after their pet after returning to work. In such a scenario, a virtual pet companion seems to be a great alternative to the real pet.
Cummings says that very soon AR devices will be so ubiquitous that we will be able to play with our virtual pets in the real world.
Susan demonstrated us their Cat Creation Editor, which their team uses to create unique cats with different traits. In future the editor will be available for users to create their own NFT cat.
Soon, Petaverse Network will be helping people to adopt their first digital pets and take them into the first of many experiences they will be able to have with virtual companions.
