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Esports fan engagement firm Yesports has officially launched their B2B platform that allows teams to create customizable NFT memberships to engage with their fans. Yesports had hinted at this platform’s launch in January this year, when they raised $2.25 million in a seed funding round from Polygon Studios, Alphabit, Cosmos, Kernel Ventures, Mozaik Capital, and NGC Ventures. The murmurs then were around Yesports building the first Metaverse Engagement Platform in the esports world, with only the fan engagement mission being clear.
With the latest update, the workings of this platform have become a little clearer. It will follow a platform-as-a-service model, which will allow esports teams and organizations to sign up and create customized experiences for their fans to increase their base and revenue.
These engagement experiences will closely mirror what has already become a standard Web3 and NFT experience, which involves various tiers of membership that unlock different rewards. These tiers and rewards will be tailored by the team’s themselves, and could range from merchandise sales, to social capital, to direct access to teams and players.
Yesports’ founder, Sebastian Quinn, had suggested during their fundraising announcement in January that this venture would be the step up that the industry needs when it comes to Web3 involvement.
“Web3 and the emerging metaverse allow for much greater fan participation, engagement, and ownership,” Quinn said. “Yesports is the Web3 upgrade the esports sector has been waiting for and will serve as a portal for esports fans to participate in this new paradigm. We can’t wait to get building with teams all over the world.”
So far, they have made progress on building alongside teams. Yesports’ website currently lists six teams prominently among those who have signed up, including Talon Esports, INFINITY, Renegades, BOOM Esports, and Team Empire. INFINITY, the 2021 Liga Latinoamérica champions, came on board the Yesports Metaverse in July.
The allure for Esports teams in coming onto such a project was somewhat explained by Sean Zhang, the CEO and co-founder of another one of Yesports’ partners, Talon Esports.
“Yesports has given us ready-made tools and a revolutionary framework to bring Web3 functionality to our audience, unlocking unrivaled engagement and direct-to-consumer benefits. NFT membership will help us create new revenue streams while solidifying existing ones and deliver new ways for fans to show their support and loyalty.”
Yesports are, by no means, the only Web3 providers in this space. In July, FITCHIN, a blockchain based gaming ecosystem, raised $3.5 million in seed funding to accelerate their own advances in the field. FITCHING themselves have KRU Esports and Furious Gaming signed up on their platform, providing a solid push to Web3 and NFT-based engagement in the macro timeline.
Steven Bryson-Haynes, who was VP of Business Development for NFT and Gaming at Polygon Studios during Yesports’ seed raise, said that the company had shown promise in emerging as a valuable player in this race.
“The team at Yesports are building something extremely valuable to the rapidly developing Web3 landscape,” he said. “The esports sector’s fan base and viewing figures are expanding all the time and Yesports will galvanize this by enabling an outlet for fan engagement. We’re really excited to be part of this round and look forward to supporting the project in the months to come.”
Nikhil has been writing on esports for several years after first covering competitive video gaming for ESPN. After its explosion into the mainstream, writing extensively on esports betting was the natural next step, including for major esports publications across the world.
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