Sorare Partners With MLB To Release NFT Fantasy Game
Sorare runs one of the biggest blockchain-based games, a fantasy soccer simulator utilizing Ethereum NFTs, recently valued at over $4.3 billion dollars. Today, the company announced a new voyage into the world of baseball.
Both the MLB Players Association and Major League Baseball have signed a deal with Sorare to allow the release of a fantasy sports game based on the MLB. This will be the company's second blockchain-based game, after launching its soccer variation back in 2019.
The MLB will launch a set of digital trading cards of current stars represented by Ethereum-based NFTs, which can then be bought or sold. Fans can then use place the players in their fantasy lineups and earn points based on the professional's real-world production.
“MLB is, for many people—myself included—their first experience with fantasy sports,” Sorare COO Ryan Spoon said while speaking with Decrypt. “It is a sport that is very rhythmic, math-driven, and stats-based, with tons of positions and players, scouting and prospects, and stars versus call-ups. It's going to be a blast.”
Spoon also made mention of baseball’s long time connection to trading cards, which Sorare hopes to replicate and continue in the digital space
The MLB already has an NFT deal with Candy Digital, a company owned mostly by sports merchandising giant Fanatics. Long-time card company Topps even put out digital baseball cards, but the company was acquired by Fanatics last year and works under the same moniker as Candy.
Sorare advertises its Soccer game as a free-to-play experience that provides all beginners with starting packs of trading cards that are not tradable NFTs, with the NFT cards being more investment for individuals attempting to win whole fantasy leagues and win prizes. The baseball game will similarly be framed as free to play without the requirement of buying any NFTs.
According to Sorare, the soccer variation of the game logs 1.8 million monthly users, with $325 million in NFT volume for 2021. The company claims to be on track for more than double that this year. Sorare pulled in a $680 million last year, from a Series B funding round, leading to its previously mentioned valuation of $4.3 billion.
With the crypto world as a whole hemorrhaging right now, it's nice to see partnerships still coming through especially in the NFT sector. Sorare has shown what NFT utility can truly be, more than just a profile picture.