Animoca Brands teams up with Untamed Planet to build wildlife metaverse

Hong Kong-based blockchain company Animoca Brands is partnering with gaming startup Untamed Planet to develop a nature-based metaverse game to support conservation efforts.

The two companies will develop “Untamed Planet,” a 3D immersive game where players can explore virtual worlds featuring wild natural landscapes, participate in quests, collect non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and form communities passionate about protecting nature, Animoca Brands said in a statement last week.

Untamed Planet has secured US$24.3 million in a series A funding led by Animoca Brands. Earlier, Untamed Planet received seed funding from Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar. The new funding will support Untamed Metaverse’s development in partnership with Animoca Brands and its subsidiary nWay. 

One of Untamed Planet’s commitments is to contribute 50% profit to nature conservation. The company donates, invests or distributes at least half of each project’s profits to on-the-ground conservation initiatives and local communities supporting them, according to Untamed Planet.

The latest collaboration will also include the launch of NFTs featuring animal avatars based on the work of world-renowned photographer David Yarrow, who has donated six of his original wildlife photos. The NFTs will go on sale in May and all proceeds will be donated to wildlife conservation efforts.

Untamed Planet’s first NFT collection will be minted using a protocol with high energy efficiency called Solana. A transaction on Solana uses less energy than three Google searches on average, Untamed Planet said.

Yat Siu, the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, commented: “We are extremely proud to work with Untamed Planet to support a project that is both a good cause and an extremely promising open metaverse development. We look forward to advancing the ways in which technology can drive nature conservation.”

Scott Bandy, studio head of Untamed Planet, said the project could merge mainstream gaming with new prospects created by Web3 technology, such as digital ownership by players, to help support real-world conservation.