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Azra Games revealed plans to launch its first NFT (non-fungible token) collection, The Hopeful, in Magic Eden on September 28. The NFTs are part of the company’s upcoming Legions & Legends sci-fi game.
Magic Eden is a community-focused NFT marketplace. Hopeful NFTs will serve as PFPs (profile pictures), become part of the upcoming Azra Games universe, and give holders special benefits and perks for the Azra Games community.
Owners of The Hopeful NFT will have access to private Discord channels with the Azra team, early beta access to Azra titles, and other undisclosed benefits.
“Azra’s first NFT art collection is inspired by the pioneering spirit of the web3 community and the shared aspiration of hope for the promise of web3,” Azra Games CEO and founder Mark Otero said in a statement. “The name of our collection The Hopeful reflects both that promise and the spirit. The graphic novel art style is a tribute to the golden age of comics, where Paul Martin de Azra, a former Marvel comic book artist, led the final style. We are excited to partner with Magic Eden to bring our mint to all crypto hopefuls.”
Legions & Legends will be the first game from Azra Games, which recently closed a $15 million seed round from Andreessen Horowitz, NFX and other leading game and web3 investors. Otero previously led the development of Electronic Arts’ hit mobile game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes while at Capital Games. (Last year, the Star Wars game hit 100 million downloads.)
Azra Games is on a mission to create deep and immersive game universes, with a specialized game economy and virtual collectibles, powered by Web3 technology like NFTs, that use the blockchain to authenticate unique digital items. The seed funding will be used to accelerate the development of Azra’s first game: an epic fantasy RPG with massive combat and collectibles.
The combat and collectible RPG takes place in a sci-fi fantasy universe, in which players command legions in a new battle experience, craft massive war machines, trade in-game NFT collectibles, and earn rewards in a new kind of in-game economy.
Ken Walton, Vice President of Growth at Azra Games, said in a statement: “Ethereum needed a high-quality launch platform like Magic Eden, and we are thrilled to be able to use it to create The Hopeful. This starter set is special to our studio, and we’re excited to partner with the talented folks at Magic Eden.”
The characters in Hopeful are employees of the Genesis Merchant Company: the intrepid explorers, miners, scavengers, and merchants who discovered the Corvus Galaxy featured in Legions & Legends. Owners of this genesis collection will have the first opportunity to test the game in beta.
“We are excited to mint The Hopeful collection on the Magic Eden Launchpad and give our community first-look access to the magical universe that the team at Azra Games is creating. Gaming is a huge focus for us and we are delighted to be working with Azra’s team of experienced developers to further advance web3 gaming,” said Jack Lu, CEO of Magic Eden, in a statement.
Magic Eden recently expanded to the Ethereum blockchain in August 2022. As part of the company’s cross-chain expansion, Magic Eden introduced the Magic Eden List (a whitelist/allowlist management tool that allows creators to generating interest in collecting), cross-chain launch schedule (a holistic view of the most exciting upcoming coins in the ecosystem), and cross-chain launch platform (allowing users to mint seamlessly in SOL, ETH, and credit cards) .
Otero is working with fellow entrepreneurs Sonny Mayugba and Travis Boudreaux. The company has also hired veterans of Capital Games.
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