NFL Rivals blockchain game will let players take over as their team’s GM and use NFTs somehow

Image: Mythical Games

We don't know what 2K will do with its license, but the league is filling it. It's hard to say what the game will be, but here's the description.

Delivering on the fantasy of being a team General Manager, this fun, easy to play game will allow NFL fans and gamers alike to compete against other GMs with their assembled player rosters and teams, building, leveling up and improving their lineup. In addition, fans will be able to own, collect and trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of their favorite players through this play-and-own game experience.

There are no trailers orScreenshots, but there are 32 collections of NFTs, which are unique generative 3D NFL franchise-themed NFTs.

It seems like it will fall somewhere on the scale between being a Football Manager for North American football fans and regular fantasy football, presumably without stepping on the Madden franchise's Ultimate Team modes that already let people build rosters, earn rewards, and improve their lineup.

The web and mobile web will be home to NFL Rivals in early 2023, and people can stay up to date on the team's activities via a Discord server.

Image: Mythical Games

In a press release, Jamie Jackson, chief creative officer of Mythical Games, says that they can add value to players in-game by adding utility, and that they will bring these concepts to NFL Rivals to evolve the team management genre.

The company says it protects people who are new to the system by using a custodial wallet, which means you don't have to learn a lot. Many Web3 fans argue that if you don't own the keys to your wallet, you don't own what's inside of it. The NFT game Axie Infinity was hacked for over $600 million and players were able to link their existing wallet via bridges between the public mainnets and the Mythical Chain.

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Like many of the companies we have heard about, it is supported financially by massive investments from a16z and other venture capitalists, who invested $150 million in the company late last year. The gaming industry veterans who lead Mythical Games have experience developing Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, and several other notable gaming franchises that we remember. The ability to buildAAA titles like Blankos Block Party has been available in Early Access since June 2021, and has since expanded to add a very familiar-looking new mode.

Chris Dixon, leader of the investment firm, spoke about the future of the internet and gaming in a recent interview.

Well, I think there are two things with NFTs. One, I do think architecturally it is very different from other objects on the internet, in the sense that most objects are controlled by an application and NFTs are controlled by users. It switches the polarity, and I think that is important. As we see the rise of Web3 gaming, you will see a whole different class of things where people own characters and other kinds of objects that they can take across different experiences. Instead of it being contained in an app, it is contained at the user level. There is an architectural aspect, and there is a social aspect. Why do people value wearing fashion — like Supreme T-shirts — or cars? A lot of value in the world is about showing that you are early to something, that you are high-status, and that you have great taste.

NFT culture is very familiar in the offline world, just applied to the online world. Instead of just saying you were a musician’s first fan, you can now prove you were the first fan by buying their NFT. It could be wrong, but we are making the bet that people value that. Early signs show that people do value these things, in the same way they value things in the offline world that convey status or taste. There is also a community aspect to these things, like with Discords. My wife has a CryptoPunk and she goes to CryptoPunk breakfasts and CryptoPunk meetups. It is a culture.

To me, there are two aspects that make NFTs different. One, you truly own it architecturally like you would a domain name. If you do not like how somebody is treating your NFT, you can just move it away. That is not true on the web today; everything is contained in an application or a website. Two, it allows you to have different social signals that people can see when you own something. This applies to everything from taste and status, to the fact that you are an early adopter, to whatever the particular design of the community NFT might be.

Joe Ruggiero, senior vice president of consumer products, said in today's release, "We are thrilled to partner with Mythical Games on a game that delivers new play-to-own NFT." The interest in NFTs and video gaming amongst current and prospective fans continues to grow and combined have accelerated the NFL's exploration of new gaming models that can deliver an unparalleled experience to fans.

Promises of digital ownership and exclusive releases that come before we see a second of footage help to highlight some of the reasons why NFTs have received such a negative response from the gaming community. Madden games and fantasy football are popular with fans because they allow them to enjoy their favorite sport with their friends. It's not clear how that might work on this platform, it seems like an offer to become an entrepreneur by selling knives, leggings, or pre-paid legal insurance is what it sounds like.

There is no game to speak of yet, just hype and a couple of JPGs, but the NFL and its partners are ready for you to buy in.