Animoca Brands Announced WWE Partnership

Animoca Brands subsidiary nWay has signed a deal with the WWE for a mobile game based on the wrestling entertainment brand. Animoca refused to explain whether it will be a blockchain-powered game or a game more in line with nWay's historical portfolio. The studio is best known for its games based on the Power Rangers franchise.

In December 2019 Animoca Brands announced that it acquired game studio nWay for 7.69 million dollars. Until that time Nway only made traditional mobile and console games. However, in March this year the studio partnered with blockchain company Forte, which is building its service on the Ethereum blockchain.

"Unfortunately, at this stage we can't release more information regarding the partnership with WWE", the press department of Animoca Brands wrote to Play to Earn. Therefore we can't be sure whether the WWE mobile game will use blockchain technology or not.

WWE blockchain speculation

What's happening with the partnership between Forte and nWay, is not known. Perhaps that's where the WWE license comes into play. Besides, when it comes to gaming there's always 2K Games. They've had the WWE license for many years, and publish new wrestling games on a yearly basis. This September WWE Battlegrounds will be released on consoles.

It highly unlikely that 2K Games and nWay will be fishing in each other's pond. Besides, the WWE already had a mobile game. In 2014 2K Games published a mobile collectible card game called WWE Supercard. It's a highly rated product and downloads millions of times.

On the other hand, mobile games about the WWE are not published on a regular basis, and a six year old game probably lost some traction along the way. In addition a game powered by blockchain technology is often treated different legally. We've seen this with for example F1 Delta Time and the F1 game series by Codemasters. When it comes to licensing, blockchain games are a different breed.

With NBA Top Shot, F1 Delta Time and MLB Champions the team at Animoca Brands already has plenty of games featuring digital collectibles. Seeing the WWE enter the ring sure would be interesting. Game studio nWay signed with the WWE, has a partnership with Forte, and is part of Animoca Brands. It's pure speculation, but it sure makes sense.