The National Football League (NFL) and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) have announced the early access release of NFL Rivals, a Web3 game.
The game, developed in partnership with gaming company Mythical Games, allows players to try out their skills as the head coach of an NFL team.
Players will be able to select their players and build their teams, which they will then be able to level up and strengthen in preparation for the game’s upcoming global launch and the start of the 2023 NFL season this autumn.
Using Web3 technology, the game will also allow players to collect, own, and trade digital assets that grant access to IRL perks and in-game prizes.
The game has already begun its early access phase, which coincides with the 2023 NFL Draft — the 88th annual meeting of NFL franchises to choose newly eligible players for the 2023 season — which began on April 27, 2023, and will end on April 29, 2023.
For the occasion, the launch will include themed in-game activities and opportunities for players to compete against one another.
The NFL Rivals game is already available for download and play on mobile devices via the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
This is not the NFL’s first Web3-related initiative: in February, the League entered the Roblox metaverse with a virtual concert and Super NFL Tycoon game; also that month, the NFL teamed with Reddit to create themed collectible avatars to commemorate the Super Bowl LVII.
Last year, the NFL and NFLPA collaborated with Dapper Labs to create and launch NFL ALL DAY, an exclusive digital video highlight NFT platform.
