After offering cash prizes to top racers through its official mobile game, professional drone racing property Drone Racing League (DRL) now plans to release a virtual version of its races, giving fans a chance to earn cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Players will be able to both use their earnings in-game or trade them on markets outside the game.
Partnering with Playground Labs, a play-to-earn (P2E) gaming affiliate of crypto-investment fund Hivemind Capital Partners, DRL says it wants to give fans a chance to monetize their drone racing experiences.
The companies will develop a P2E sports competition on blockchain platform Algorand, where players will race DRL drones to earn cryptocurrency and NFTs. The move will also accelerate DRL’s growth as the first omnichannel sports league, enabling pilots and fans to race drones across the physical, the virtual, and the metaverse.
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In a statement to the press, DRL is quick to point out that the global gaming, cryptocurrency, and drone markets are worth over $2 trillion as the emerging global audience of young, technology-obsessed “Tech-setters” continues to rise.
In the meantime, Playground Labs CEO Sam Peurifoy stresses that the goal is to enable fans to earn real economic utility by playing the games they love. “The Drone Racing League is the most innovative, inclusive, and high-tech sport, and DRL is made for the metaverse and the future global economy, where P2E games will create community, economic sustainability and authentic engagement for participants around the world,” he says.
It’s worth noting that DRL has been blending the digital and the real to reward fans through multiple formats since its inception. The league transforms players into professional pilots through its annual SIM Tryouts e-sports tournament on the DRL SIM, a true-to-life drone racing simulator on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games; they offer cash prizes to top racers in their Drone Racing Arcade mobile game, and is the first sport in the air that fans can legally bet on.
Read more: Drone Racing League is now an FAA-accredited UAS event organizer
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