Inside Animoca Brands and Yuga Lab’s Wreck League web3 strategy | Pocket Gamer.biz

nWay, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands which focuses on the development of fighting games, has announced the upcoming release of its web3-powered game Wreck League.

The title will be available for Android, PC, and Mac, and will let players build, battle, and own their own mechs in real time, a strategy which nWay hopes will help onboard players onto web3. Rather than the limited roster of fighters in most games of the genre, Wreck League offers over 1.5 quadrillion possible combinations.

The company is licensing characters from the Yuga Labs’ Yugaverse web3 characters. This move follows nWay’s previous collaborations with the likes of Power Rangers and WWE.

“We’re collaborating on a bunch of content with Yuga Labs in a licensing deal,” said nWay CEO Taehoon Kim, in an interview with Gamesbeat. “We feel this is a new type of fighting game, and we’ve been doing fighting games for 12 years. Now we’re experts at it, but this one is special for us. We’ve always dreamed about a fighting game that’s like a platform. So instead of a traditional fighting game with a set play, Wreck League is all about creating your own own fighter.”

Wrecking the competition

Wreck League will be available in two different forms, each with a focus on a different market. The web3 version will require NFT ownership to participate in tournaments and competitive events, and Kim believes that this version will be a success with existing web3 fans comfortable with cryptocurrency transactions.

“We’re going after the people who bought into the concept of ownership first,” said Kim. “And we’re targeting people who are excited about the concept of competing with what you own, or what you create. Those are smaller number of people. So it’s going to be our first bowling pin. We’re going to be laser focused on that group.”

Additionally, a web2 version of the title replicates the web3 version’s gameplay and mechanics, and players opting for this version can purchase mechs created with the NFTs, allowing web3 players to effectively monetise even outside of the web3 ecosystem.

“This is the start of an incredible evolution in the world of esports and competitive gaming,” said Yat Siu, executive chairman of Animoca Brands, in a statement. “Our mission at Animoca Brands is to deliver digital property rights to the world’s gamers and Internet users. That’s why we are so excited about Wreck League and how this groundbreaking Web3 project will remodel how players engage and compete while truly owning their digital assets.”

We listed Animoca Brands as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022. We’ll be unveiling our list for 2023 on August 22.