LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rumble Kong League, the first gaming title of Rumble League Studios Inc, today announced it has raised $4.5 million in growth capital to launch its play-to-earn 3v3 basketball experience and to continue building the go-to metaverse sports league. RKL merges traditional gaming elements, web3 functionality, asset ownership, basketball, fashion, and collectible NFTs to build an engaging sports-game ecosystem. Investors in this initial financial round were led by JDS Crypto, with participation from IDEO CoLab Ventures, SkyVision Capital, Animoca Brands, Framework Ventures, Victory Creative Group, CAA Sports, Sebastien Borget, Arthur Madrid, Paul George and more.
“Our goal is to provide a truly unique and memorable experience for sports fans within the Rumble Kong League,” said Marcus Bläsche, CEO & Co-Founder of Rumble Kong League. “NFTs and the Metaverse are making a huge impact in the gaming world and we aim to build the go-to sports ecosystem and push the boundaries of what is possible within the web3 space.”
The first drop, Rumble Kongs, are a set of 10,000 programmatically generated and unique NFTs designed by Compton-based artist Sickpencil that will be playable avatars in the Rumble Kong League video game. Each Kong has a distinct look with varied scarcity, generated from 100+ hand-drawn traits, and can act as either a 2D or future 3D avatar in-game. Each Kong comes with randomly generated boosts that determine performance in a playable 3v3 basketball game.
Rumble Kong League key features include:
- Decentralization: Rumble Kong League is built from the ground up through the involvement of the community. The core game has been funded through genesis drop and NFT-holders are involved in all steps and can have direct impact on development decisions.
- Play to Earn: Cutting-edge web3 functionality provides new ways to earn tokens and other rewards through engagement inside the ecosystem. By investing time into the game, users will be able to receive rewards, including the upcoming RKL token and other collectible assets.
- Digital Ownership: Any assets within the Rumble Kong League are owned and managed by their owners and decentralized. Meaning that any decision, purchase, or trade are completely in the hand of the owner, bringing a new level of digital ownership to Kong or Club holders.
- Clubs/Leagues/Tournaments: Leagues and Tournaments are the place for players and clubs to meet and compete for the championship. Combining play-to-earn with premium competitive features enables users of RKL to join clubs and participate in competitive leagues and tournaments.
- Brands & Fashion: Rumble Kong League is providing brands and celebrities entirely new ways to engage with their fans and reach a new audience. Think customizable wearables, banners, stadiums, players, etc, completely customizable by its owners.
This funding paves the way for the company’s rapid growth and expansion. Moving beyond the game, Rumble Kong League empowers digital-native communities of engaged fans, brands, and players to establish their own brands with full commercial rights to NFT-holders, highly-customizable clubs, in-game merch and assets.
"The next leg up in the NFT journey is all about utility and access for the community," said Peter Robert Casey, CEO of JDS Crypto. "Rumble Kong League builds this into every aspect of their roadmap, from club formation to gameplay to real-life and digital merch drops. We are excited to be a part of this journey and help strengthen RKLs vision.”
In addition to participating in the funding round, CAA Sports, a division of leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), is also serving as the league’s strategic advisor, helping navigate such areas as sponsorship sales, media rights, event management, talent integration, and beyond.
Rumble Kong League is leading sports, fashion, hip-hop and street culture into the metaverse. It has generated over 11K ETH (~$45 million) in secondary sales volume after its initial drop only 4 months ago, showcasing RKL’s high demand. This funding round helps fuel Rumble Kong League’s launch, establishing itself as a lifestyle brand, and prepare for potential future expansions into other major sports. The game is set to be released in 2022.
About Rumble Kong League
Rumble Kong League, the first gaming title of Rumble League Studios, is a play-to-earn web & mobile currently under development. RKL is considered “The Metaverse’s Major Sports League” by combining traditional gaming elements with natively built web3 functionality bringing both engaging gameplay and a cutting edge technology stack to its users. Announced in 2021, Rumble Kong League is the first gaming title that combines basketball, play-to-earn, fashion, and collectible NFTs, bringing them all under one umbrella. RKL additionally ties deep partnerships with brands such as JDS Crypto, IDEO CoLab, Framework Ventures, Animoca Brands, CAA Sports, and many more.
