Animoca Brands acquires indie game developer Grease Monkey Games

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming firm, announced Thursday it has acquired Australia-based indie game developer Grease Monkey Games.

With extensive experience in motorsports games development and established industry partnerships across motorsports and automotive manufacturing, Grease Monkey Games adds significant game development capabilities and expertise to Animoca Brands, Animoca Brands said in a statement.

Grease Monkey Games is the developer of Torque Burnout and Torque Drift, and has a new major motorsport title in development. It is a Melbourne-based developer of high-quality motorsports games, founded in 2013 by Arran Potter, a veteran of the video visual effects industry.

Its games have been downloaded 45 million times across both mobile and personal computer (PC) and are enjoyed by motorsports fans all over the world. Its pipeline includes a major cross-platform racing game built in Unreal Engine 5, to be announced shortly.

“Animoca Brands is incredibly thrilled to welcome Grease Monkey Games, a team that has experience in developing AAA gaming titles and shares our vision for the open metaverse and, more specifically, for our own REVV Motorsport. Grease Monkey Games not only adds exciting titles to our catalog, but it also significantly enhances our development capabilities,” said Yat Siu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands,

According to the statement, the current management of Grease Monkey Games will continue to operate the company after the acquisition, working closely with Animoca Brands to align efforts relating to blockchain integration, fungible tokens, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), play-to-earn capabilities, synergy opportunities, and product launches, particularly in connection to Animoca Brands’ REVV Motorsport ecosystem.

“We are incredibly excited to be joining the Animoca Brands family and its vision for the future of gaming. With our combined experience and licensed partners, we can build unique digital experiences for the REVV ecosystem. Blockchain technology will play a large part in the future of gaming and the web at large, and I can’t think of a better partner to work with than Animoca Brands,” said Arran Potter, Founder and Managing Director of Grease Monkey Games.

Grease Monkey Games is a motorsport video game developer and publisher founded in 2013 as a contract-based company serving global car manufacturers such as Honda, Nissan, Toyota, GM, and Dodge. In 2014 the company shifted gears to developing its own original IP games, including Torque Burnout and Torque Drift. Grease Monkey Games has an extensive portfolio of licensed partnerships with vehicle manufacturers including Nissan, Toyota, Ford, and BMW, and aftermarket parts manufacturers including Link ECU, Wilwood, and Mishimoto.

With a growing roster of professional motorsports athletes such as Adam LZ, Vaughn Gittin Jr., and Mad Mike, and flagship motorsport events such as Formula Drift, RedBull Drift Shifters, and GridLife, Grease Monkey Games connects video game enthusiasts and motorsport fans worldwide.

Animoca Brands claimed itself as a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification. It develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including the REVV token and SAND token; original games including The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes; and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Formula 1®, Disney, WWE, Power Rangers, MotoGP, and Doraemon.

The company has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Bondly, and Lympo. It has a growing portfolio of more than 150 investments in NFT-related companies and decentralized projects that are contributing to building the open metaverse, including Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others.

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