Animoca Brands and Play Magnus Group (PMG) partner to bring chess into the metaverse
Lympo to build Champions Chess Tour NFTs and social tokens, bring chess game experiences to The Sandbox
Oslo, 16 February 2022 - Animoca Brands and Play Magnus Group (PMG) today 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.
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About Play Magnus Group
Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group's mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG. www.pmg.me
About the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour
The Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess tour worldwide, determining the world's best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins on 19 February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in the final held in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.6 million. For more information visit www.championschesstour.com.
About Lympo
Lympo, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is building a sports NFT ecosystem based on world-famous athletes and sports clubs. The Lympo ecosystem will include sports stars, clubs, and custom sports characters created by various artists and sports influencers. Users can mint NFTs and utilize them in play to earn blockchain games developed by Lympo. Learn more at www.lympo.com or get updates on Twitter or Telegram.
About Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands, a Deloitte Tech Fast winner and ranked in the Financial Times list of High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2021, is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification. It develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including the REVV token and SAND token; original games including The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes; and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Formula 1®, Disney, WWE, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Doraemon. The company has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Bondly, and Lympo. Animoca Brands has a growing portfolio of more than 150 investments in NFT-related companies and decentralized projects that are contributing to building the open metaverse, including Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others. For more information visit www.animocabrands.com or follow on Twitter or Facebook.
Contacts
Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands global: press@animocabrands.com
Lympo: press@lympo.io
Play Magnus Group
Andreas Thome, CEO Play Magnus Group
Sebastian J. Kuhnert, Chief Business Development Officer Play Magnus Group