Hong Kong-based Web3 investor and open metaverse company Animoca Brands has agreed to acquire WePlay Media Holdings (the sole shareholder of XXL Racing, an official licensee of MotoGP) and WePlay Media LLC (the developer of MotoGP Championship Quest).
The intended acquisition of WePlay Media is an all-cash transaction. The completion is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions.
Animoca Brands is the title sponsor of the MotoGP Gran Premio Animoca Brands de Aragón.
Following the acquisition by Animoca Brands, WePlay Media COO Graeme Warring will continue to lead the firm and drive MotoGP projects. He will work with Animoca’s REVV Motorsport team, which operates the blockchain game MotoGP Ignition.
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WePlay Media was founded by 20-year video game veteran Mark DeSimone and Warring to bring AAA-quality mobile experiences and content focused on MotoGP to market. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, with additional offices in the Philippines, it was established to develop MotoGP Championship Quest, a major mobile game for the MotoGP brand.
MotoGP, which claims to reach nearly half a billion homes and have more than 40 million social media followers, first partnered with Animoca in 2019. The two companies partnered to produce MotoGP Ignition, a competitive management and collectibles game platform based on MotoGP, and that is part of the REVV Motorsport ecosystem of play-and-earn games.
In June 2022, Animoca Brands announced that it would assume top billing as title sponsor for multiple MotoGP Grands Prix in 2022 and 2023.
The acquisition of WePlay Media will allow Animoca Brands to expand on its existing relationship with Dorna Sports as a sponsor, NFT licensor, collectible cards provider, and blockchain game developer and publisher.
With MotoGP Championship Quest, the official MotoGP mobile racing game on its stable, the company will be able to develop an integrated experience for MotoGP Ignition players and beyond.
MotoGP Championship Quest, launched in 2017, has over 50 million downloads on mobile platforms and around 1.2 million monthly active users globally.
In 2021, players of MotoGP Championship Quest took part in more than 68 million races, taking the number of races up to half a billion since launch, with fans investing around 1.7 million hours playing the game. Meanwhile, the MotoGP Fan World Championship metagame continues to grow in popularity and is backed by some of the biggest names in motorsport.
After completing the intended acquisition, Animoca Brands and WePlay Media will begin integrating the REVV ecosystem with WePlay Media’s products to deliver play-and-earn opportunities, build on existing partnerships, and welcome new partnerships to amplify fan engagement.
Yat Siu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands, commented: “The acquisition of WePlay Media will boost our engagement with fans of the amazing sport of MotoGP, unlocking powerful exposure in both the metaverse and traditional gaming. We are gaining a unique platform to implement our Web3 strategy by incorporating our motorsport-based REVV Token and NFT programs with the official MotoGP mobile game and deepening our strategic relationship with MotoGP.”
Graeme Warring, Co-Founder and COO of WePlay Media and co-creator of MotoGP Championship Quest, said: “Animoca Brands has the ability to reach hundreds of millions of users in core growth demographics to expand the sport’s fan base and create engagement opportunities for the riders, teams and sponsors. Our powerful reach in Asia, in particular, aligns with the largest markets in the world for motorcycle sales and fans.”
Animoca Brands 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 utilising popular IPs including Disney, WWE, Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP, and Formula E.
Its subsidiaries include The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Forj, Lympo, Grease Monkey Games, Eden Games, Darewise Entertainment, Notre Game, TinyTap, and Be Media.
Animoca Brands has a growing portfolio of more than 340 investments, including Colossal, Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others.
Also Read: Animoca Brands banks US$75M+ more to fund strategic acquisitions, investments
In July this year, Animoca Brands completed a capital raise of US$75.32 million. It was the second tranche of the US$359 million funding round led by Liberty City Ventures, announced on 18 January 2022.
Last month, Animoca Brands’s Japan unit raised a total of US$45 million from MUFG Bank and its parent.
TGV has been an early backer of Animoca Brands since early 2019.
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