IQ Protocol and The Red Village partner to launch rental marketplace for play-to-earn gaming

TALLINN, ESTONIA — IQ Protocol, a digital asset rental technology, has announced a full integration with the blockchain game, The Red Village, which will go live on the IQ Market on June 19. 

The IQ Market will allow The Red Village players to list their in-game character non-fungible tokens (NFTs) (‘Champions’) for income while allowing new users to rent and play without owning the underlying asset. 

IQ Protocol, the technology underpinning the marketplace, allows for customizable rental terms such as “reward split only,” meaning new players can rent, play, and earn without any initial payment. They would split any rewards with the asset owner.

IQ Market includes a gas-less rental feature which, in combination with reward-split terms, means new players will have access to the whole play-to-earn experience on The Red Village with only an empty wallet. IQ Market users will also have exclusive access to a $35,000 prize pool for rental-only tournaments.

Launch partners include CARV, KOD, BreederDAO, Rainmaker Games, KapitalDAO, Gamic, Rebel Bots, BitMetis, DAOsquare, Whale DAO, PIF Nation, TCG World, Universus, OlaGG, YeSports, Chainge Games, Froyo, Hooga Gaming, Unix, AMGDAO, CGU, Real Player DAO, Muzzle Run, Boomland, IKONIC, and EX Sports.

While non-fungible tokens have gained immense popularity in recent years, their mass adoption is, nevertheless, slow, partly due to their limited supply and high cost of ownership.

To address this issue, IQ Labs has built this technology to improve the accessibility of digital assets creating new user onboarding opportunities for blockchain gaming, ticketing, membership organizations, subscriptions, and NFT projects.

The IQ Market enables users to experience NFTs for a limited time, generating additional revenue streams for projects and increasing the liquidity of the NFT market.

Since its formation in 2021, the startup has partnered with over 50 businesses worldwide to collaborate on GameFi, NFT, and blockchain subscription projects. 

Tom Tirman, CEO and co-founder of IQ Labs said:

“A seamless asset rental experience has been a missing piece of the puzzle for this burgeoning sector. And we’re very pleased to team up with The Red Village and contribute this vital infrastructure to the gaming ecosystem.” 

Known for its championship fighting tournaments, The Red Village is a play-to-earn ecosystem built on Polygon, backed by prominent metaverse investors such as Animoca Brands and GameFi Ventures Fund. It is the first dark fantasy game on the blockchain that offers fun and an opportunity to earn. 

To further expand the dark fantasy ecosystem, The Red Village is currently working with Blowfish Studios, the creators of AAA-rated Phantom Galaxies, to develop its upcoming game “The Red Village: Darklands,” inspired by traditional games such as “RuneScape,” “Diablo,” “Skyrim,” “Elden Ring,” and “The Witcher,” which will also support asset rental utilizing to IQ Protocol.

Brendan Robb, Founder and CCO of The Red Village said:

“The team at The Red Village chose to work with IQ Protocol as a rental partner as their tech and team are second-to-none, and their enthusiasm to make the product successful is palpable. From sponsoring Rental Championships to leveraging their huge network of media connections, working with IQ Protocol is a surefire way to shoot for success. TRV is excited to show the gaming community how rental works and continue building on its close relationship with IQ.”

The Red Village will be the first game to incorporate IQ Protocol’s NFT rental mechanism. As a result, gamers potentially earn rewards by leasing their in-game characters or items via the IQ Market. It’s an effective way to overcome the cost barrier and open a game to a broader community. It allows new players to play and earn and gives asset owners a sustainable yield from their in-game assets.

About IQ Labs

IQ Market is a platform built for the Web3 sharing economy. Their p2p NFT rental technology allows users to unlock the utility of scarce digital assets at a fraction of the purchasing cost, redefining on-chain ownership and access.  

The IQ Labs’ vision is to become the go-to partner for Web3 projects to showcase the utility of their digital assets to a global audience of active power users – frictionless, trustless, on-chain.

In 2022, the company secured funding from leading investors, including Crypto.com Capital, Republic Capital, Kronos Research, Genblock Capital, Axia8, GSR, and Genesis Block Ventures.

For more information about IQ Labs and the IQ Market, please visit: https://iq.space/

About The Red Village

The Red Village launched an autobattler strategic dark-fantasy blockchain game, Tournaments, in March 2022 after two sold-out NFT sales in November and January. 

Having traded over 4,000 ETH on secondary markets and with a thriving and active community, The Red Village has been the success story of blockchain gaming in 2022 and 2023, showing that it is possible to both have fun and earn simultaneously in a sustainable ecosystem. Having paid well over $2,000,000 in game earnings, The Red Village shows that combining a good community with good gameplay and a strong concept is a recipe for success. 

The game is based thematically on dark-fantasy titles such as Diablo, Elden Ring, The Witcher, and Runescape. Future game modes include Darklands, a multiplayer ARPG under development in a multiyear partnership with Animoca Brands and their flagship game studio, Blowfish. Darklands is due for release in 2024.

To learn more about The Red Village, please visit: https://www.theredvillage.com/

For any questions about this press release, please contact:

Francis Foster, Communications Lead, IQ Labs

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/iqlabs/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iqlabs_official

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iqprotocol/

Telegram: https://t.me/iq_protocol

Website: https://iq.space/