The deal marks effective execution of ICI’s management team to push the company into the world’s fastest growing gaming markets.

Leading ASX game developer iCandy Interactive (ASX:ICI) announced a major push into Web 3.0 this morning via a new strategic partnership with Froyo Lab.

The company behind Froyo Games, an established Web3.0 gaming platform, Froyo Labs will commercialise and publish metaverse games and NFTs developed by iCandy, in a multi-year partnership that will leverage both company’s respective strengths.

For the first project, iCandy will develop an avatar series called ‘The League of Super Misfits’ – a series of 10,000 unique computer-generated superhero gaming avatars that will be minted as NFTs.

Importantly, under the terms of the deal iCandy will receive guaranteed gross revenues of $4m from Froyo Labs for the Misfits project.

Going forward, the two sides will determine a revenue share on commercial terms “to be determined on a project-by-project basis”, iCandy said.

Shares in iCandy jumped by around 8% following this morning’s announcement to 13c.

 

Froyo Labs

With the successful development of its Froyo Games platform, Froyo Labs is a leader in the shift towards decentralised gaming as part of the shift to Web3.0.

As a measure of its early success, Froyo Labs recently closed a US$6 million in seed funding round, with strategic investments from major global Web 3.0 players including Animoca Brands, Spartan Group, and BTC12 Capital.

For the strategic partnership, Froyo will operate as the lead publishing platform for marketing and commercialisation of NFTs and game titles developed by iCandy.

“In addition, iCandy will also develop concept art, game art and IPs that Froyo Lab will use to convert into NFTs and commercialise the NFTs,” the company said.

 

Revenue opportunity

For iCandy, the deal gives the company an opportunity to make a major push into metaverse gaming with a well-funded partner.

iCandy’s role in the partnership will be to “principally develop the games, concept art, game art, and its related support software and services”, the company said.

Over the course of the partnership, the two companies are planning for a minimum of 9 NFT or Metaverse games-titles and 12 series of NFTs. Each of the NFT series will consist of no less than 5,000 NFTs.

The first computer-generated gaming avatars for The Misfits NFT project are expected to go on sale within the next two months.

Computer-generates art is an increasingly popular field and is now widely terms Generative Art.

“Some of the most successful Generative Art NFT projects entail NFTs that often fetch well above US$100,000 per NFT in the resale market,” iCandy said.

The construction of the NFT leverages iCandy’s newly established NFT studio, where it deploys its existing expertise in production and gaming art through an in-house workforce of more than 600 game developers.

The Misfits storyline comprises characters that are “mischievous and socially nonconforming”, iCandy said, and the project is being headed up by one of the company’s principal artists who has career experience at DC Comics as well as other global brands.

iCandy’s revenue guarantee on the intial title also guarantees of at least $4m from Froyo for the launch of the Misfit series, regardless of its commercial success.

“The gross revenue will be paid to ICI within 6 months from when ICI hands over the artwork and its related source files to Froyo Lab,” iCandy said, which it expects to do in early April.

In addition, “any new intellectual property developed by iCandy will remain the property and rights of iCandy unless otherwise decided by iCandy”, ICI said.

 

Metaverse strategy

More broadly, the deal with Froyo gives iCandy a head-start in one of the fastest growing sectors of the global games market.

The company added that it’s well placed to continue developing AAA-rated games for the metaverse through its recent acquisition of Lemon Sky Animation Studios, which gives the company a best-in-class production team at a critical juncture in its growth trajectory.

In addition, “through the strategic partnership with Froyo Lab, iCandy now has effectively added among the best-in-class distribution channels to provide and distribute its metaverse themed game titles and its related IP”, the company said.

“The Misfits is a new alternative game publishing model where iCandy is planning to be amongst the pioneering game studios to create utility for its avatar NFTs via extended integration with game titles developed by iCandy and its partners.”

This article was developed in collaboration with iCandy Interactive, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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