ONE Championship Announces New Free-To-Play Mobile Game Featuring NFTs

ONE Championship prides itself on innovation, and its efforts have not gone to waste in the world of combat sports as the promotion also hosts kickboxing, Muay Thai and submission grappling matches alongside mixed martial arts (MMA).

Boasting names such as Demetrious Johnson, Christian Lee, Angela Lee, Rodtang Jitmuangnon, Jonathan Haggerty, Stamp Fairtex, Mikey Musumeci and Allycia Hellen Rodrigues as some of their most recognizable stars, the organization has built up a healthy roster of talent across the board.

As it is in sports, fans will gravitate to a specific athlete for a multitude of reasons that range from their style of fighting to how they talk on the microphone and sometimes even for how relatable some athletes are to them.

Now, fans can get even closer to the in-cage action as ONE Championship has recently announced a partnership with Animoca Brands and its subsidiary Notre Game to create ONE Fight Arena–a free-to-play, NFT-powered mobile game focused on strategic gameplay.

"Featuring an immersive first-person point of view, players will be able to experience the unique world of martial arts and develop their athlete from the beginning of his or her career," the promotion wrote in the official release.

For the completely optional NFT aspect of ONE Fight Arena, the game will utilize Web3 integration that uses blockchain technology and NFTs to "provide true digital ownership to players for certain game assets, including ONE athletes as they appear in the game."

The Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands has produced licensed games and applications for brands such as WWE, Marvel and Power Rangers with its most notable game being the mobile fighting game Power Rangers: Legacy Wars released in 2017.

Alongside games they have produced, the brand also has over 390 cryptocurrency and non-crypto-related holdings, which include Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs and Colossal Biosciences.

"We're thrilled to work with an industry leader in Animoca Brands to launch ONE Fight Arena, our first Web3-enhanced video game. This partnership will give us the opportunity to engage with our global fan base at a deeper level through a unique gaming experience," ONE co-founder and group president Hua Fung Teh stated in the press release.

According to the roadmap available on the official ONE Fight Arena website, core game development is entering its closing stages as Q1 of 2023 approaches, with Q2 being reserved for metagame development and Q3 for polishing and additional digital ownership layer development.

Fans will get their first serving of ONE Fight Arena with player testing available in Q4 of 2023 with the full global launch currently slated for Q1 in 2024.