On October 19th, Animoca Brands and game development company Amber are dropping the ‘Formula E: High Voltage‘ Web3 racing game.
The electric car racing game was developed by the two companies on the eco-friendly Flow blockchain from Dapper Labs. As with most Web3 games, players can expect to have ownership over all their in-game digital assets via NFT technology.
To begin, Formula E: High Voltage players will receive four free NFTs, consisting of two cars and two drivers. Various elements of the ‘ABB FIA Formula E World Championship,‘ such as lifelike tracks of New York, Berlin, London, and Rome will be featured in the game. There will be day and night races and various weather conditions to compete in.
The NFT cars come in four degrees of rarity (common, rare, epic, and legendary.) There are also a few rare assets associated with each rarity tier. Players will be able to train their drivers and upgrade their cars as they compete to become top drivers.
The fastest, lightest, and most powerful car is the ‘GEN3‘ race car, which will be available for purchase in-game. Some of the professional drivers, such as 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Champion Jake Dennis will also be featured.
The new Web3 game is part of the REVV Motorsport ecosystem, a platform that includes MotoGP Ignition and MotoGP Guru — both blockchain-based racing games.
Formula E is the first sport to be recognized as having a net zero carbon footprint. It works with car manufacturers around the world to develop sustainable tech to improve electric cars. Appropriately, the Flow blockchain was chosen for the game because of its energy-efficiency, which is achieved through its proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Minting NFTs on Flow is cheap, easy, and environmentally friendly.
The gaming director at Formula E, Kieran Holmes-Darby, said that she’s hopeful the game will not only be fun for players and Web3 fans, but also encourage people to “follow the teams and drivers competing in the Championship” in real life.
Beginning today, October 17th, Solo NFT Crates ($20-$30) and 9,000 Team NFT Crates ($119-$149) will be on sale at the Formula E: High Voltage website. To purchase NFTs, users must have a Blocto Web3 wallet loaded with the $REVV token and connected to the Flow Blockchain.
A Boom in Web3 Gaming Is Happening
News of the latest game from Animoca Brands and Amber is exciting for Web3 racing game fans. But it isn’t the only thing that’s happened in Web3 gaming recently. As we reported yesterday, Web3 gaming has been enjoying a renaissance of sorts. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve been here to cover dozens of articles about blockchain-based games in recent months.
Here are some of the top headlines:
- October: Web3 Gaming Projects Secure $600M in Q3 Funding: Report
- October: Immutable Teams with Amazon to ‘Supercharge’ Web3 Gaming
- October: Korean Gaming Giant Partners with Chainlink for Interoperable Web3 Gaming
- August: Mobile Gaming Giant Zynga Teases First Blockchain Title ‘Sugartown‘
- June: Mythical Games Raises $37M Despite Bear Market
- June: Nike Teases NFT Sneaker Hunt in Epic Games’ Fortnite
- June: Nike & EA SPORTS Hint NFT Enabled Games
Not all NFTs have utility beyond “cool” art and digital prestige. But NFTs that are used in-game and can be owned, traded, and sold by players appears to be one of the most useful ways the technology can be incorporated.
We’ll have to wait to see if the ‘Formula E: High Voltage‘ racing game from Animoca Brands and Amber is popular with fans. But given the reputation of both companies, the benefits of using Web3 tech in gaming, and the universal appeal of racing games, we think there’s a good chance it will be. As always, we’ll be following up with any updates to the story.