The National Football League (NFL) is once again venturing into uncharted crypto territory, this time with the launch of its own play-to-earn game in partnership with Mythical Games, the league announced Wednesday.
The web and mobile game will be called "NFL Rivals" and will be released in early 2023, according to a press release.
The game will run on the Mythical Chain blockchain, which will be powered by the sale of 32 franchise-specific non-fungible token (NFT) collections to be announced at a later date.
The NFTs will grant their holders access to "special in-game events and rewards."
grant rewards" related to the League's larger plans to integrate Web 3 into the fan experience.
The game itself is described as a general manager simulator where users can build and develop their own teams, with the league's players tradable as NFTs, according to a press release.
Mythical Games touts a "gamer first" approach to its user interface, leaving the underlying technology largely behind the scenes to attract mainstream users. The company closed a $150 million funding round last December at a $1.25 billion valuation led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
"We are thrilled to be working with Mythical Games on a blockchain-enabled game that offers new play-to-own NFT capabilities and creates a new adventure for fans who love to play football games," Joe Ruggiero, SVP of consumer products at the NFL, said in a statement. "Interest in NFTs and video games among current and future fans continues to grow."
While all major U.S. sports leagues are dabbling in cryptocurrencies, the partnership marks the first time a league has launched its own game for earning. The next largest partnership is between Major League Baseball (MLB) and fantasy NFT platform Sorare, whose game has yet to be released.
The NFL has already launched a number of Web 3 products, including a ticketing collection platform on Polygon and Flow, an NFT collectibles marketplace developed by Dapper Labs along the lines of NBA Top Shot, and 13 franchise partnerships with Socios.
A League representative had previously told CoinDesk that each of its NFT projects remains separate in its execution and that the teams on each project have little to no contact.