Welcome to The Hype Report where we break down the latest news, stories & insights at the intersection of sports, artificial intelligence & web3.

Here's What You Need To Know This Week 📝

• Fortnite & Nike Collaborate To Launch ‘Airphoria’ ✓

• Oval3 Fantasy NFT Rugby Collection Drops On Binance Marketplace 🏉 

• FIFA Ventures Into Metaverse With Trademark Filings ⚽

• Quick Hype 🎯

Let's Dive Into It 🤿

Fortnite & Nike Collaborate To Launch ‘Airphoria’ ✓

Nike is bringing .SWOOSH to gaming again.

Earlier this month, they announced a partnership to bring the .SWOOSH platform to the EA Sports gaming ecosystem.

This past week, they announced a collaboration with Fortnite to launch Airphoria, an immersive gaming experience that’s first of its kind.

This unique, collaborative effort is focused on fostering a multi-year relationship with Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite.

It also brings a massive audience for .SWOOSH with over 240 million users logging into Fortnite in the past 30 days alone.

Airphoria allows players to explore a dynamic landscape in-game, based on the signature design elements of Nike’s classic Air Max style.

Items worn by characters in the Airphoria universe can be purchased in Fortnite’s Item Shop for endless character customization.

Here are a few other features of the collab:

• Nike simultaneously launched a limited Airphoria collection, with T-shirts celebrating the collaboration

• Players have the opportunity to link their Epic Games and Nike accounts to unlock an achievement on .SWOOSH

• Linking accounts gives players early access to the future .SWOOSH Air Max Virtual Collection and receive a Linking Achievement NFT

• Players can claim a free pair of Air Max 1 sneaker in Fortnite by spending 10+ minutes exploring the Airphoria Fortnite map

• Players can buy an Airphoria Pack in Fortnite containing two sneaker pick axes, a sneaker drop glider, and an emote

• Everyone who purchases the Airphoria pack will be able to claim an Airphoria Achievement NFT

Nike has previously collaborated with Fortnite on several other digital items, including the Airie and Maxxed Out Max outfits, which can also be purchased through the Fortnite Item Shop.

Clearly, the footwear giant is hyper-focused on broadening its reach of digital creations across video game platforms.

Why Does This Matter?

The collaboration between Nike and Fortnite holds significant importance for digital communities.

Here's why:

Bridging Physical and Digital Worlds:

Bringing Nike-themed virtual outfits, accessories, and sneakers within the Fortnite game, this collaboration allows players to express their style and identity through their avatars.

The synergy between a world-renowned sports brand and a popular online game highlights the increasing convergence of physical and digital experiences, blurring the lines between the real and virtual worlds.

Engaging a Younger Demographic:

Fortnite has a massive and dedicated user base, specifically with younger generations.

The collaboration allows Nike to tap into this vast community and engage with a demographic that is increasingly immersed in digital environments.

Amplifying Brand Visibility and Reach:

Fortnite is not just a US thing. It has become a cultural phenomenon with a global reach. The game boasts millions of active players across different platforms and has a strong presence on social media.

By partnering with Fortnite, Nike gains more exposure and can extend its brand visibility beyond traditional marketing channels.

Overall, this collaboration showcases the power of partnerships between iconic brands and popular online platforms in creating immersive and meaningful experiences for users in this new digital age.

Oval3 Fantasy NFT Rugby Collection Drops On Binance Marketplace 🏉

The Rugby World Cup is coming up in September in France and Oval3 is bringing the hype.

Oval3, which is a Web3 fantasy game aimed at rugby announced they were launching a portion of their NFT collection on Binance’s marketplace.

With this partnership, Oval3 looks to enhance its visibility by offering its collection on one of the largest NFT marketplaces in the industry.

Oval3 = Sorare of Rugby?

Oval3 wants to bring all professional rugby clubs to Web3.

The company operates in a similar fashion to Sorare and has already signed several exclusive partnerships with the French Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) and the American Major League Rugby (MLR).

They currently have the official license from the LNR for 9 years, which covers the TOP14 and its second division PROD2.

This includes more than 1,500 players and 30 professional clubs.

They’ve quickly gained global recognition through their partnership with the MLR, which presents significant upside for the company.

The Oval3 marketplace launched on April 7th, 2023.

Since then users have been able to purchase their cards through auction-style bidding on Polygon.

In just two months, the platform has generated over $100,000 in sales.

Oval3 NFTs will be exclusively available on Binance NFT for 2 months.

Each week, one club from each championship will be featured, and different cards will be auctioned off for 24 hours each day.

The available supply per day will be:

• 1 unique card

• 2 super rare cards

• 4 rare cards

• Approximately 15 limited cards (featuring all available players from the three clubs for the week)

The first cards were made available on Monday, June 19th.

In this first release, the available cards, teams, and players included:

• Stade Rochelais (Reigning European champions): Grégory Alldritt, Antoine Hastoy and Jonathan Danty

• Oyonnax (Current PRO D2 champions): Charlie Cassang and Aurélien Callandret

• New England Free Jacks (Currently leading the Eastern Conference): Paula Balekana and Mills Sanerivi

The collection will continue with Antoine Dupont, the ambassador of Oval3, and Stade Toulousain, the most decorated club in Europe, the Utah Warriors with Paul Lasike as the American ambassador of Oval3, and Mont de Marsan, who reached the semifinals this season in PRO D2.

How Oval3 NFTs Work

Similar to Sorare and other fantasy leagues, the cards represent players and provide all the relevant information about them.

Each card features the player’s name, first name, age, nationality, club, position, and photo.

The cards come in five levels of rarity: common, limited, rare, super rare, and unique.

Oval3’s cards are created on the Polygon blockchain, and their rarity level allows access to specific competitions.

The rarer the card, the higher the rewards in the competition.

Additionally, the rarity provides a percentage of bonus points during various competitions.

Why Does This Matter?

This partnership between Oval3 and Binance NFT helps facilitate more accessibility to NFTs.

Given Binance’s notoriety in the Web3 world - it also brings trust and credibility to Oval3's offerings and exposes rugby players from various leagues to a global audience.

Digital assets aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and a collaboration like this, where there is a gamification element, has the potential to drive more growth, adoption, and advancement of NFTs.

FIFA Ventures Into Metaverse With Trademark Filings ⚽

FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, recently filed trademarks all related to the metaverse.

This move shows how intentional they are about tapping into VR and NFTs within the emerging metaverse landscape.

The trademarks indicate its interest in various metaverse-related areas, including:

• Virtual stadiums

• Immersive soccer experiences

• Player avatars

• Digital collectibles

With the global popularity of soccer, FIFA’s entry into the virtual world carries strong implications for fans and the gaming community.

By leveraging VR technology, they could create experiences that help fans virtually watch matches, navigate digital stadiums, and interact with their favorite players in simulated environments.

FIFA’s interest in NFTs also suggests the potential for digital collectibles, which allows fans to own unique and valuable virtual assets tied to their favorite teams and players.

While they haven’t disclosed any specific plans for metaverse-based initiatives, the filing of these trademarks indicates the organization’s dedication to Web3 and capitalizing on the metaverse’s potential.

As the metaverse continues to gain momentum, the inclusion of FIFA adds a ton of substance to the intersection of VR, gaming, and sports.

Fans can now anticipate the prospect of stepping into the digital realm of soccer, where the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds begin to blur.

Quick Hype 🎯

Software Using AI Finds Almost 20,000 Abusive Social Media Posts Were Sent During 2022 World Cup.

 HyperPlay Announces $12 Million Series A Investment.

Fan-Controlled Football Cancels Third Season To Focus On Tech Licensing & Franchise Sales.

Wimbledon Line Judges' Future Uncertain As Grand Slam Embraces AI.

Ian Poulter's LIV Golf Team Secures Sponsorship With Crypto Exchange Company.

LaLiga Launches Its First Official Online Shop In Partnership With Fanatics.

Michael Jordan Sells His Majority Stake In The Charlotte Hornets For $3 Billion.

Aaron Rodgers Launches A Crowdsourcing Campaign To Raise $1.25 Million In Bridge Funding For Online Sports Database.

Hawks Ventures Makes First Investment Into ARENA.

ASICS Invests in VR Fitness Startup Valkyrie Industries.

Thank you for reading this week.

Talk again soon.

Malcolm

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not financial or business advice in any capacity. The information shared is my thoughts & opinions and does not represent the opinions of any other person, business, entity, or sponsor.

The contents of this newsletter also should not be used in any public or private domain without the author's express permission. The contents of this newsletter should not be used for any commercial activity, for example, research report, consultancy activity, or paywalled article, without the author's express permission.