Animoca Brands and Play Magnus Group (PMG) announced a partnership to bring PMG’s Meltwater Champions Chess Tour into the metaverse. As part of the partnership, Lympo, a sports NFT ecosystem and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, will create an NFT collection, social tokens, and a blockchain-based chess-inspired game for PMG’s Champions Chess Tour; PMG will build Champions Chess Tour experiences in The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world and another subsidiary of Animoca Brands.
Lympo will spearhead the development and launch of a Champions Chess Tour NFT collection over the next five years. Lympo will also create custom-designed and animated NFT collections depicting top chess players such as World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri, and Hans Niemann.
Lympo will create individualized NFT digital collectible cards of varying rarity and supply for each eligible professional chess player. The Champions Chess Tour NFTs will be integrated into the existing Lympo NFT ecosystem and will offer utility in upcoming games produced by Lympo.
In addition, Lympo will launch a social token for the Champions Chess Tour, which will allow fans to engage and interact with their favorite Tour players. Champions Chess Tour NFT holders will have the opportunity to acquire the social tokens and use them to participate in voting sessions, lotteries, questionnaires, and polls.
Together with PMG, Lympo is also developing a blockchain chess-inspired game centered around PMG’s Champions Chess Tour. At the same time, Play Magnus Group will be entering The Sandbox to forge a virtual experience for fans and chess enthusiasts within the open metaverse.
“Chess has emerged as one of the fastest-growing esports. By partnering with Play Magnus Group and its Champions Chess Tour, we will create unparalleled experiences for chess players, casual gamers, and fans,” said Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands.
“We strongly believe in the metaverse and the opportunities it brings for immersive fan engagement. Animoca Brands is a global leader pushing the advancement of the open metaverse and we are excited to grow chess together in this bold new space,” said Andreas Thome, CEO of Play Magnus Group.
“By utilizing NFTs and virtual worlds we are opening a whole new communication channel for chess and fans of the Champions Chess Tour. Working with Animoca Brands and the partners in our network, we are creating something more immersive than anything that has come before,” commented Ada Jonuse, CEO of Lympo.
