Animoca Brands-Backed Game ‘Wreck League’ Puts Bored Apes Into the Storyline

Game developer and Animoca Brands subsidiary nWay will soon release a new mech fighting game called “Wreck League” that will incorporate Yuga Labs’ non-fungible token (NFT) projects as part of its storyline.

The new game, launching in the next few weeks, will allow players to assemble mechs, or giant robotic characters, using collectible NFT parts that can be moved around to create “1.5 quadrillion” different combinations. To start, players will need to mint a mech NFT, comprised of 10 mech parts that can be found inside boxes sold to those on the Wreck League allowlist.

While the Web3 version of the game requires a mech NFT and Ethereum-compatible wallet and will facilitate competitive game events and tournaments, developers promise a free-to-play, non-blockchain version of the game that will be available on a range of platforms, including iOS. In the Web2 version, players can also purchase non-NFT copies of mechs created on the blockchain, with an undisclosed portion of the revenue generated flowing back to the owners of the original mechs.

As part of season one of the game, nWay and Animoca Brands entered into a licensing agreement with Yuga Labs to incorporate four of its collections into the game’s storyline: Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club and Otherside Kodas.

Taehoon Kim, CEO of nWay, told CoinDesk that while players won’t be able to battle one another as Bored Apes, characters from Yuga Lab’s canonical universe, such as Curtis, Jimmy, Gary and Blue will be woven into the game’s narrative. Kim considers this approach as part of the “non-canonical extended Yugaverse.”

“Wreck League’s universe is a distinct storyline that keeps Yuga Lab’s canonical universe separate,” he explained.

Wreck League players have the opportunity to compete for on-chain prizes, including mech parts and booster boxes with varying rarities.

Web3 investment giant Animoca Brands is already connected to several popular blockchain games through its subsidiaries, including metaverse platform The Sandbox. Yuga Labs has also expanded into gaming, recently hiring chief gaming officer Spencer Tucker to help develop its Otherside metaverse and launching a number of mini-games to build out its ecosystem. On Monday, the company announced plans to acquire metaverse-focused gaming firm Roar Studios as part of its focus on Otherside.