Guild of Guardians Teams up with the Biggest Names in Esports to Bring Web3 Gaming to Millions

Cloud9, Fnatic, NAVI, Ninjas in Pyjamas, NRG, SK Gaming, T1, and Team Liquid Enter the World of Blockchain Gaming

SYDNEY, Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Guild of Guardians (GOG), a mobile squad-based action RPG game published by Immutable Games Studio and developed by Stepico Games, today announces a multi-year partnership with eight of the world's biggest and most prominent professional esports organizations. Together, the partners will build the future of web3 gaming and digital entertainment and open Guild of Guardians pre-registration to the largest esports communities around the world.

Under the partnership, esports household names, including Cloud9, Fnatic, NAVI, Ninjas in Pyjamas, NRG, SK Gaming, T1, and Team Liquid will join the vibrant fantasy world of GOG, representing their brands as full-fledged, playable characters. These characters will be tradable as digital collectibles on the fully carbon neutral scaling solution, Immutable X.

GOG's unprecedented partnership with the world's leading esports teams will help expose millions of their fans — in addition to over 250,000 already pre-registered players — to the future of web3 gaming.

"This is an incredible opportunity to team up with some of the most prominent and recognizable names in the professional esports space," said Derek Lau, VP & Game Director for Guild of Guardians. "GOG is a mobile team RPG which is built for players and designed as a highly accessible game, making it the perfect gateway into the world of web3 for all players."

Thanks to this collaboration, esports enthusiasts will be able to support their favorite teams and players in new and meaningful ways, by representing their favorite team in-game, via digital assets. With true digital ownership, fans will be able to create, own, and trade their digital assets, in addition to competing against others to earn rewards.

Five of GOG's partner organizations are among the top 10 most valuable esports teams in 2022, according to Forbes, and combined, the eight participants have a valuation of nearly $2 billion USD.

Similarly, the organizations have massive and active fan communities on their social media platforms, bringing together millions of esports enthusiasts. On Twitter alone, the teams are followed by more than 6.3 million users combined.

"We're thrilled to partner with Guild of Guardians in what we believe to be a hugely symbiotic relationship for both our industries - gaming and esports. We firmly believe that esport brand integration into games is the future, enabling closer interactions between fans and teams,"

Pietro Fringuelli, Chairman of the Executive Board of The World Esports Association (WESA). "We're excited by the notion of digital ownership and the ability to earn and trade in-game characters."

WESA includes five of the participating teams and has been chosen to develop a new commercial model for a unique landmark cooperation with a publisher.

This announcement comes in line with persistent growth in the popularity of esports, which boasts an estimated global revenue of $1.3 billion in 2022.

Immutable, the company behind Guild of Guardians, also has a proven track record in the web3 gaming sector, having raised $200 million in a Series C funding round last March.

For more information on Guild of Guardians, please see HERE.

About Guild of Guardians

Already in development since March 2021, Immutable and Stepico's joint gaming project is a mobile RPG where players summon guardians, join a guild, and defend Elderym in this revolutionary fantasy RPG. The game will combine high-quality gameplay, graphics, mechanics, and a sustainable rewards system alongside an active, contributing community. There are over 250,000 pre-registered emails already. Android and IOS releases will be later this year. For more information visit: https://www.guildofguardians.com/

Immutable Games Studio is the global leader in web3 game development and publishing. Having pioneered the world's first blockbuster NFT trading-card game, Gods Unchained and currently building multiplayer mobile RPG Guild of Guardians.

Immutable Games Studio is part of The Immutable Group, advancing the next generation of web3 gaming, and is on a mission to make asset ownership and commerce in digital worlds real - through the power of immutable NFTs.

Founded in 2016, WESA is the result of joint efforts between industry-leading professional esports teams and ESL, the world's largest esports company. Based on similar traditional sports associations, WESA is an open and inclusive organization that will further professionalize esports by introducing elements of player representation, standardized regulations, and revenue shares for teams. WESA serves as a single point of contact for publishers to support and amplify sustainable growth of esports.

Founded in 2013, Cloud9 has grown to become one of the most recognizable esports organizations in the world. With championships industry-wide, unmatched viewership hours, and extensive benefits packages for players and staff, Cloud9 prides itself on being the best in all categories. At this time, Cloud9 fields professional teams in Apex Legends, Chess, CS:GO, Fortnite, Halo, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Teamfight Tactics, VALORANT, Wild Rift, and World of Warcraft. To find more information about Cloud9, visit https://www.cloud9.gg.

Fnatic is a global Esports performance brand headquartered in London. It is laser-focused on levelling up gamers, thanks to its digital ecosystem and physical products. Founded in 2004 by Sam Mathews, Fnatic teams have since claimed more than 200 championships across 30 different games and are one of the most successful esports brands of all time. Beyond winning prestigious championships, Fnatic's mission is to be the flagship brand for performance. Fnatic is the channel through which the most forward-thinking brands communicate with Gen-Z and Millenials. It delivers industry-leading content, experiences and activations through its offices and facilities in cities between London and Tokyo. For more information, visit Fnatic.com.

NAVI (Natus Vincere) is one of the leading esports clubs in the world, founded on December 17th, 2009, in Kyiv. During its long history, the club has represented 24 disciplines and won over $18,000,000 in prize money. NAVI became champions of The International in 2011, the major-tournament PGL Major Stockholm 2021, and has won over 100 gold medals across over 250 championships. NAVI has gained more than 17M fans on social media and YouTube. In 2020 and 2021, the club became the world's second most-watched esport organization.

Ninjas in Pyjamas is one of the most global esports organizations in the world with esports operations across the strongest gaming regions, including the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Born in 2000, we have pioneered the esports scene since its inception. We earned our stripes by competing at the very top level across almost a dozen game titles and we never lose — we only win or learn. Our vision is to bring gaming culture to a world without boundaries.

NRG is a professional gaming and entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2016, NRG has embodied competitive esports excellence and the best of gaming culture over the last half-decade. Known for championship teams and innovative gaming lifestyle content, NRG is one of the most-watched organizations in the world on Twitch and YouTube, and the most watched org across platforms in North America for 2021.

SK Gaming is the most traditional esports organisation and one of the world's leading brands in competitive video gaming. Founded in 1997, "Schroet Kommando" has been shaping and inspiring the industry for more than 25 years with a proven track record of business success. In the past two decades, SK Gaming built a legacy of achievements with more than 75 major championships and a rich history of competitive excellence across multiple game titles and genres. SK Gaming strives to inspire young people to have goals & aspirations in life - leading by example with a genuine family-friendly approach while actively promoting youth development, equal opportunities and diversity.

T1 Entertainment & Sports is an award-winning global esports and gaming organization. Fielding professional rosters in League of Legends (LoL), VALORANT, Dota 2, Super Smash Bros, Overwatch, and Splitgate. T1's LoL team has won three World Championship, two MSI and eleven LCK titles, making it the most successful team of all time. For more information on T1, visit www.t1.gg 

Team Liquid was founded in 2000 in the Netherlands and has evolved into one of the leading international multigame esports teams with training centers in Utrecht, São Paulo, Brazil and Los Angeles, California. Team Liquid has over 120 athletes competing across 19 distinct games, including all major esports titles, such as VALORANT, Rocket League, DOTA 2, League of Legends, CS:GO, Fortnite, Rainbow 6: Siege, and more. Led by Co-CEOs Steve Arhancet and Victor Goossens, Team Liquid is one of the most successful esports teams in the Western market in terms of competitive achievement and fan engagement across multiple sports.

SOURCE Immutable Games Studio