Web3 RPG, Guild of Guardians has partnered with eight top esports teams and today, fans can buy and earn in-game summons featuring team branding.
The partnership with these teams — Cloud9, Fnatic, NAVI, Ninjas in Pyjamas, NRG, SK Gaming, T1 and Team Liquid — and publisher Immutable Games Studio was first announced in September 2022. Notably, NRG first partnered with Guild of Guardians back in 2021.
Each partnered team will have two NFT summons featuring their IP. One is purchasable and the other is exclusively earned through gameplay. Guild of Guardians players can buy esports summons from February 8-15, but only 16,000 in total are available.
In for the long haul
These esports teams and Guild of Guardians emphasize the long-term vision of the partnership. This drop and team IP integration is the first step. Soon, Immutable plans to add leaderboards to foster in-game competition. Eventually, GOG esports NFT holders will also gain access unique in-game and out-of-game rewards. This includes in-game synergies, easier access to other esports-themed items like pets, exclusive real world merch and VIP access to events.
While there is some friction between the esports and Web3 communities, Bo Kryne, VP of product at Team Liquid believes in the long-term vision of Guild of Guardians. “The ecosystem health of IMX creates the conditions for a long and meaningful partnership for us — something that Liquid is very keen on as we only believe in projects that offer lasting value for their users … ultimately what we are endorsing and promoting to our audience is a game title that puts gameplay and quality of the product first. Team Liquid is not interested in participating in speculative crypto projects that impersonate as video games.”
In-game skins have become a hot topic for esports monetization as it is a low-friction option to diversify their revenue. Some publishers offer in-game esports skins, but selling skins in newer titles like Guild of Guardians could become more popular.
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Author: Jordan Fragen
Source: Venturebeat
