Ava Labs & GREE: What This Partnership Means for GameFi on Avalanche

All eyes have been on Avalanche's GameFi since the recent collaboration between Ava Labs and GREE was announced on 27th October. Ava Labs is the software provider that supports the Avalanche blockchain and its ecosystem and it will soon be teaming up with the Japanese gaming and digital media behemoth, GREE. In particular, Ava Labs will partner with GREE’s Web3 subsidiary, BLRD and the collaboration is aimed at hastening GREE's expansion into the blockchain market. Ava Labs will help accelerate BLRD’s growth into blockchain gaming by providing technical, marketing, business, and ecosystem support.

Why the Deal is Promising

With around 30 Million monthly active users, GREE, a publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has an estimated $585.91 Million USD in revenue. The company, founded in December 2004, is well-known and respected in Japan. Its expertise in consistently developing and bringing games to the market has earned the GREE team partnerships with companies like Ubisoft, Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Electronic Arts, where it has assisted them in publishing mobile games.

As part of its broader plans to participate in the Avalanche primary network and gaming Subnets, GREE is already running more than a dozen Avalanche validators as a demonstration of its commitment to the future of Avalanche. It also recently became the first publicly traded Japanese company to acquire $AVAX on its portfolio.

Rekindling Global Expansion Plans

The partnership was met with joy by most in the Avax community and people took to their social media pages to share their thoughts on the benefits of the collaboration. 

"This will open up a whole new world of possibilities at GameFi. Excited for the to be part of the community and Avalanche,"commented an enthusiastic Avax community member on Twitter.

Another Twitter user, though, pointed out the fact that GREE's English Language Twitter GREEGames has been silent since 2017. But they were quickly reminded that GREE had to shut down all western operations a few years back to focus more on the core Japanese market where it had the track-record for being consistent with its top-grossing releases. Consequently, it is only active on its Japanese account. The partnership with Ava Labs could potentially be a step in the right direction to rekindle their previously failed global expansion plans.

Being a huge beneficiary of the thriving Japanese gaming market - the world's third largest - has helped GREE develop expertise in identifying and capitalizing on opportunities. It is now looking to innovate in the blockchain industry through its young subsidiary, BLRD.

The company is thinking about expanding its partnership with Ava Labs and Avalanche on other gaming projects, such as joint investments with the Avalanche Blizzard Fund. Without a doubt, GREE will improve blockchain gaming and attract more users to Avalanche.

With Ava Labs' support, GREE plans to launch its first Web3 game in 2023 through BLRD, and contribute significantly to the GameFi economy on Avax. 

"With the full support and tooling from Ava Labs, and their substantial efforts to build a strong gaming ecosystem across the network, I’m excited for this vertical to be growing steadily," Ava Labs President John Wu tweeted.

About BRLD

BLRD is a GREE subsidiary created to help GREE enter Web3. BLRD was founded on 1st July and intends to make a broad entry into the gaming world by developing Avalanche games, promoting validator operations, and investing in other blockchain games. GREE, Inc. is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan.

About Avalanche

Avalanche (AVAX) is a competing cryptocurrency and blockchain platform to Ethereum. AVAX is the native token of the Avalanche blockchain that uses smart contracts to support a variety of blockchain projects, similar to Ethereum. The Avalanche blockchain can provide near-instant transaction finality while also being fast, low-cost, and environmentally friendly. With faster speeds, higher throughput, and lower fees, Avalanche is fully compatible with Ethereum assets, apps, and tooling.