Animoca Brands and Dapper Labs launch new CryptoKitties artist series designed by Momo Wang
Animoca plans to reserve two characters for upcoming fancy chases and to sell two via Nifty Gateway.
Games developer Animoca Brands has made a further addition to its CryptoKitties franchise after its partner Dapper Labs launched a new CryptoKitties artist series with four characters designed by award-winning illustrator Momo Wang.
The company also announced that it would donate half of the proceeds from an upcoming auction of crypto merchandise to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada to help hungry communities impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
CryptoKitties is one of the first and largest games on the Ethereum network, offering digital “cat crypto-collectables” secured by blockchain technology.
Animoca has been a key partner of the CryptoKitties franchise since January 2018 and brokered the collaboration between CryptoKitties and illustrator Momo Wang.
According to Animoca, CryptoKitties has become a successful consumer product built on blockchain technology because of the concept’s ability to integrate users into a collaborative online universe, in which they can acquire, display and trade various digital assets with other users.
Around six months after launching, the formerly ASX-listed gaming company said “the game has captured the world’s imagination by bringing consumer interest to the blockchain in a dramatic new way”.
As so-called “collectables”, digital assets that can accrue such premiums have served as a strong influence to raise demand for crypto-backed initiatives and games and have sparked volatile changes in valuations based on limited supply and demand.
Art and gaming
As a game concept, CryptoKitties allows users to collect, breed and trade digital cats with other users on the same network. The game is currently one of the most popular games on the Ethereum network, registering over 1.5 million users in its first six months since launching in early 2018.
One of the ways Animoca means to expand participation in the CryptoKitties game is through its new partnership with one of China’s most recognised illustrators, Momo Wang.
Momo Wang is known as the creator of the highly popular Tuzki character, a black and white line drawing of a bunny that is one of the most recognised characters in China and used widely across various instant messaging platforms.
The novel series in partnership with Dapper will see Momo Wang developing a collection of characters including “four avant-garde cats inspired by DADA ballet costumes that each possess an authentic take on the genetic makeup of a CryptoKitty”, Animoca said.
The company added that as a further promotion, two of these crypto characters will be reserved for upcoming “fancy chases” while two others will be sold on collector platform Nifty Gateway.
“Once all 100 Kitties sell out, CryptoKitties will unveil an auction for the exclusive 1-of-1 edition,” Animoca said.