The National Football League has approved a new blockchain-based mobile game and is giving out early access to it. Mythical Games, an industry leader in the blockchain gaming space, is working with the NFL to create NFL Rivals. With a more arcade-like take on the sport than more realistic simulations, it gives players access to the tried-and-true notion of digital ownership inherent in blockchain technology, in which they, the players, become the owners and may be exchanged, boosted, and otherwise developed. The NFL has had a positive impact on the sport by introducing iconic players and teams.
Mythical titles’ senior vice president of platform, Daniel Frank, recently spoke with PocketGamer.biz about the company’s goals with its digitally owned titles. The concept “play-AND-earn” shifts the focus from the short-term speculative approach that many NFT ventures seeking follow-up utility fall prey to, to the long-term value and engagement that originates with wonderful games.
“The idea of ‘earning’ is based on having possessions, which gives you more independence, which is something that, arguably, every person and gamer wants. Perhaps even more paradigm-shifting would be the promotion of a play-and-own mindset, according to which the whole games industry will need to embrace the concept of actual asset ownership.
If any company can capitalize on the appeal of digital ownership, it may be the National Football League, which is why the cooperation between Mythical Games and the NFL is so important. Digital artifacts have been a staple of other games for quite some time now; Electronic Arts’ FIFA series is a prime example. Mythical isn’t the first sports game to use blockchain technology, but their choice is nevertheless significant.
Despite the crypto winter and concerns about the security of blockchain, many corporations are still placing huge bets on the technology, with the reasoning that digital ownership will eventually play an essential role in the platform and game selection of players. If this is the case, the largest sector of the gaming industry—mobile gaming—could be the catalyst that finally brings a major blockchain game to the masses.
