Immutable Taps YGG Pilipinas to Launch Guild of Guardians Game

One doesn't need to be a hardcore gamer to know about web3 games. Built on blockchain technology, these games allow people to earn money through cryptocurrency, which is one reason it has been getting more popular in the Philippines over the last few years.

Immutable Games, a global leader in web3 game development and publishing, seems to be seeing the potential of the country in terms of blockchain gaming. The company has joined forces with a Filipino community of pro-web3 gamers: Yield Guild Games (YGG) Pilipinas.

YGG Pilipinas will be an “anchor partner” for the launch of one of Immutable's mobile games, Guild of Guardians (GOG), in the country. Citing why it chose the Philippine gaming guild, Immutable says the team has the “most active and dedicated players globally, who are always the first to discover and achieve top ranks in the latest web3 games.” YGG Pilipinas, with its web3-native user acquisition tools, can help engage a more extensive player base for GOG, too.

ALSO READ

'The Philippines Is Still at the Epicenter of Web3 Adoption in the World'

For the Third Straight Year, Philippines Tops Worldwide Rankings for Web3 Gaming Interest

“We’ve always recognized the Philippines as one of the strongest communities in web3 gaming,” Jill Keshyap, executive producer of Immutable Games Studio, said. “This partnership will be instrumental in establishing [GOG] as the leading team-based RPG on mobile.”

“With YGG Pilipinas' onboarding expertise, we are optimistic that GOG can become one of the top games to drive further adoption,” Keshyap added.

YGG Pilipinas, which has more than 95,000 active community members, could be a strong starting point for Immutable to attract more Filipinos to patronize not only GOG, but the rest of its growing roster of games. The Filipino gaming guild likewise stands out on the leaderboards.

“So far, we’ve brought in over 2,600 new players to [GOG] and formed more than 20 active guilds,” YGG Pilipinas country head Mench Dizon said. “YGG Pilipinas will continue [to support] Immutable’s games and make them accessible to the Philippines, the epicenter of web3 gaming adoption.”

YGG Pilipinas has featured GOG in the sixth season of its Guild Advancement Program (GAP), a questing platform that rewards players with tokens and achievement badges in the form of soul-bound tokens. The six-week run of the program is set to end on August 21. Meanwhile, Spraky, a YGG Pilipinas community lead and the official ambassador for GOG, has begun creating content to entice new players and other Filipino gaming communities, starting with a video series teaching gamers about the mechanics. 

Other virtual and in-person events where GOG was showcased include a three-month long nationwide tour where almost 7,000 Filipino attendees participated in Manila, Batangas, Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu, and Davao.

GOG is a mobile RPG where players summon guardians, join a guild, and defend the character, Elderym, in the revolutionary fantasy game. Known heavily for its player-centric rewards system, it has garnered over one million pre-registered users since its global release via iOS and Android on May 15.

Immutable Games, the creator behind GOG, is the gaming-focused arm of Australia-headquartered Immutable Group. It prides itself as the pioneer of the world's first blockbuster NFT trading card game: Gods Unchained. The Immutable Group, founded by James Ferguson, Robbie Ferguson, and Alex Connolly in 2018, is comprised of leading technologists, creators, and innovators; and is backed by top transformational technology investors, including BITKRAFT Ventures, King River Capital, AirTree, Temasek, and Coinbase.

Established in 2021, YGG Pilipinas is a community of Filipino gamers, creators, and traders. Its parent company, YGG, is a web3 guild protocol, with a global network comprised of regional guilds and partnerships with over 100 blockchain games and infrastructure projects. Originating from the Philippines, YGG aspires to become the best community-based user acquisition platform in web3 gaming worldwide.

What a partnership between a Filipino gaming guild and Immutable means

For the Filipino gaming industry, this makes for a significant development, especially since Immutable boasts the highest capitalization among all gaming-focused chains, with more than 320 committed games building on the platform.

While the alliance is a give-and-take situation, YGG Pilipinas could strengthen its position in the industry by leveraging Immutable's vast network—which may open doors to new investment opportunities or grants and spur the growth of the local web3 gaming industry. And if things go as planned, the guild may become just one of many Filipino gaming communities to gain a shot at landmark alliances like this.

The Philippines continues to be the country with the strongest interest in web3 gaming globally for three straight years from 2021 to 2023, according to crypto market data aggregator CoinGecko. This is despite a downfall caused partly by skepticism from changes in the local play-to-earn landscape. To recall, web3 gaming boomed during the pandemic lockdowns, led by blockchain-based online game Axie Infinity. It became an instant hit among Filipinos until its popularity eventually dwindled due to lower returns on investment. 

Still, web3 gaming is not going anywhere—that's for sure. Even the government, with the Department of Communications and Information Technology (DICT) at the forefront, has laid out plans to set the stage for its growth, recognizing the technology's potential to drive economic development. It said it is already in the process of crafting a roadmap for web3 gaming.

“Gaming is the second largest driver of the digital economy, which means we have a very robust and vibrant gaming industry,” DICT Undersecretary Jocelle Batapa-Sigue said in an earlier summit. 

“[The DICT has already developed a] strong sandbox environment around these technologies, showing the commitment of the Philippine government to innovation,” she added. “We're willing to work with stakeholders and champions of web3 to identify goals, targets, and market estimations for the next three, four, or five years.”