Japanese media giant and gaming company GREE plans to launch its first web3 game in 2023.
BLRD, a subsidiary of GREE, and Ava Labs, the software company providing support to the Avalanche blockchain and its ecosystem, have formed a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating BLRD’s growth in blockchain gaming.
BLRD was established on July 1, 2022 to promote the Web3 business. It will promote validator operations and blockchain game development by leveraging the experience cultivated in the GREE Group.
GREE now runs more than a dozen Avalanche validators as part of its broader plans to participate in the Avalanche primary network and gaming Subnets. It also now holds the Avalanche token, AVAX, marking a milestone for a publicly traded company in Japan.
BLRD’s multi-decade history of gaming leadership includes releasing the first ever mobile social game, Fishing Star, in 2007 and highlights such as:
- 30 million active monthly users across its games
- Work with top gaming companies – such as Square Enix, Sega, Konami, and Bandai Namco – to publish mobile games that have reached millions of downloads
- Popular IP in mobile gaming and anime, such as One Punch Man
Ava Labs will help spur BLRD’s growth into blockchain gaming, providing technical, marketing, business, and ecosystem support.
GREE has more than a decade of experience making high-engagement Web2 games, including work on a host of popular games, including Naruto and multiple mobile versions of Final Fantasy. BLRD plans to make a broad entry into Web3 gaming, including game development and distribution on Avalanche, NFTs, running validators, and investing in third-party games.
Further, BLRD plans to collaborate with Ava Labs and the Avalanche Foundation on other projects, including joint investments with Blizzard the Avalanche Fund.
Ed Chang, Head of Gaming at Ava Labs, said:
“GREE has a decade-plus track record of making games that players love with timeless IP. We’re thrilled that they’ll be building on the gaming chain, Avalanche, and partnering to make its future even brighter. Ava Labs has all the tools to help GREE grow into a Web3 gaming powerhouse.”
Avalanche launched in September 2020, ushering in a new era for blockchains with near-instant transaction finality. Today, Avalanche supports 500+ dApps and secures billions of dollars in value, all while having minimal climate impact.
Commenting on the partnership, Eiji Araki, Director at BLRD, said:
“We will deliver a brand new game which will be enjoyed by players for long years as we have done in Web2 games.”
Avalanche is a fast, low-cost, platform for building and developing decentralized applications (dApps). 3 chains exist in Avalanche, which are characterized by quick finality and scalable systems, while maintaining higher decentralization The platform is also characterized by its quick financials and scalability, while maintaining a higher degree of decentralization.
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