However, NFL Rivals has already announced: the “Rarity League” drops, which will consist of 32 sets of “unique generative 3D NFL franchise-themed NFTs” that will be delivered before the game’s release, although no images or a video have been released.
Based on the description, the game appears to be somewhere between a Football Manager for North American football fans and regular fantasy football, presumably without infringing on the Madden franchise’s Ultimate Team modes, which already allow people to build rosters, earn rewards, and improve their lineup.
As with any Web3 project, players may stay up to date on a team or phishing-related news on the NFL Rivals Discord, which will be available when the game opens on desktop and mobile web in early 2023.
According to Mythical Games’ chief creative officer Jamie Jackson, NFL Rivals would have “NFTs with usefulness.” “We can’t wait to bring these ideas to NFL Rivals, which will advance the team management genre by incorporating the benefits of play-and-own games and providing the community with new opportunities to participate with their favorite teams and players both in and out of this virtual environment,” Jackson adds.
Because the firm employs a “custodial wallet,” gamers unfamiliar with blockchain technology may participate without fear of their assets being jeopardized. Some people think that if you don’t have the keys to your wallet, the contents of that wallet don’t belong to you. Bridges let sophisticated players connect their existing Mythical Chain and public mainnet wallets, but as we saw with the NFT game Axie Infinity, which was hacked for over $600 million and no one spotted for about a week, bridges may add another possible point of failure for security.
Late last year, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and other venture capitalists invested $150 million in the firm. Mythical Games’ game industry gurus include Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, and a slew of other notable titles. a16z commended Mythical’s ability to build AAA games like Blankos Block Party after being available in Early Access since June 2021 and introducing a new mode that looks strikingly similar to an old favorite.
We are pleased to work with Mythical Games on a blockchain-enabled game with new play-to-own NFT capabilities, providing a new path for football fans “In today’s release, NFL senior vice president of consumer products Joe Ruggiero said. NFTs and video gaming are growing more popular among current and future NFL fans, prompting the league to investigate new game formats that may give fans an unrivaled experience.”
Before we ever see a single frame of gameplay, NFTs make promises of digital ownership and exclusive releases that only serve to annoy gamers more. Football fans like fantasy football and Madden NFL because they give social experiences that allow them to share a shared passion with their peers. Aside from the allure of ownership, which sounds eerily like an invitation to start a business selling knives, leggings, or pre-paid legal insurance, it’s unclear how that would work on this platform.