WePlay Media, a Phoenix-based mobile video game and app maker, says its planned acquisition by a Hong Kong blockchain gaming company will allow it to further solidify user engagement in motorsports games.
The Valley company entered a membership interest purchase agreement with Animoca Brands in an all-cash deal. Financial details of the acquisition, which is still subject to unspecified customary conditions, were not disclosed.
WePlay was founded in 2014 by the company’s current COO Graeme Warring and CEO Mark De Simone, launching to develop the mobile game MotoGP Championship Quest. WePlay is the sole shareholder of XXL Racing LLC, an official licensee of MotoGP, or Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
The company released the game in 2016. The free-to-play game is a major driver for the MotoGP brand and has racked up more than 50 million downloads with around 1.2 million monthly active users around the world, the company said.
Animoca Brands, which advances digital property rights for gaming and the open metaverse, has also been working with MotoGP since 2019 and was the first company to gain the rights to develop MotoGP non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Animoca Brands is also title sponsor for multiple MotoGP Grand Prix events in 2022 and 2023.
Warring will remain at the helm of WePlay Media and said that the acquisition has the potential to significantly increase engagement with his company’s work.
“This acquisition is an exciting development for WePlay Media and for the MotoGP Championship,” Warring said in a statement. “Animoca Brands has the ability to reach hundreds of millions of users in core growth demographics to expand the sport’s fan base and create engagement opportunities for the riders, teams and sponsors. Our powerful reach in Asia in particular aligns with the largest markets in the world for motorcycle sales and fans.”
Animoca buys WePlay after huge funding round
Animoca’s relationship with MotoGP also includes a competitive management and collectibles blockchain game platform called MotoGP Ignition, which is part of Animoca’s REVV Motorsport ecosystem of play-and-earn games.
Once the acquisition is completed, WePlay Media will begin working with the REVV Motorsport team to integrate its MotoGP Championship Quest game into an integrated experience for MotoGP Ignition players. They will also work together to develop new partnerships, the companies said.
“The acquisition of WePlay Media will boost our engagement with fans of the amazing sport of MotoGP, unlocking powerful exposure in both the metaverse and traditional gaming,” said Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, in a statement. “We are gaining a unique platform to implement our Web3 strategy as we incorporate our motorsport-based REVV Token and NFT programs with the official MotoGP mobile game and deepen our strategic relationship with MotoGP.”
Animoca Brands' acquisition of WePlay is coming on the heels of a $110 million funding raise by the Hong Kong company through the issuing of convertible notes, and that came less than two months after a $75 million funding haul, according to a report by Forbes, which also said Animoca is laying the groundwork for a possible initial public offering.
Forbes reported that Animoca Brands, which launched in 2014, had a valuation of about $5.9 billion.
In addition to its headquarters in Phoenix, WePlay also has offices in Manila, Philippines.
