Blockchain mobile title Guild of Guardians has announced a significant web3-focused partnership with seven esports organisations.
As a result, Cloud9, Fnatic, NAVI, Ninjas in Pyjamas, SK Gaming, T1 and Team Liquid will be integrated into Guild of Guardians as playable characters.
According to a release, these characters will be tradable as digital collectibles on Immutable X, a carbon-neutral NFT platform. The partnership is expected to help raise awareness of the game ahead of its launch whilst also highlighting web3 gaming possibilities.
Published by Immutable Games Studio and developed by Stepico Games, Guild of Guardians is an upcoming fantasy mobile blockchain RPG in which players can play, own and trade characters to compete against each other. The title is set to release its alpha launch in 2022 and has garnered over 250,000 pre-registrations.
Despite being an unreleased game, this isn’t the first time Guild of Guardians has made headlines in the esports scene. Last year, North American esports organisation NRG announced a similar collaboration with the mobile title.
The announcement also highlighted that the World Esports Association (WESA) played a role in the partnership. Founded in 2016, the association’s founding members include five of the participating teams in the collaboration: Fnatic, Natus Vincere, NRG, G2 Esports and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
“We firmly believe that esport brand integration into games is the future, enabling closer interactions between fans and teams,” stated Pietro Fringuelli, Chairman of the Executive Board of The World Esports Association.
The growing relationship between esports and digital collectibles seems to be growing with every passing month. In August, NFT esports-focused platform IKONIC officially launched. In the same month, Web3 engagement company Yesports unveiled an esports NFT membership service.
Derek Lau, VP & Game Director for Guild of Guardians, commented: “This is an incredible opportunity to team up with some of the most prominent and recognisable names in the professional esports space.
“GOG is a mobile team RPG which is built for players and designed as a highly accessible game, making it the perfect gateway into the world of web3 for all players.”