Eric Paulier, founder and CEO of Vatom, spoke at the UNESCO “Change the Game” sports conference in Paris. His speech offered a future vision of the Esports Olympics, which includes “virtual sports,” competitions involving technologies such as AI and NFT.

Olympics of Esports: Eric Pulier’s vision on the future of “virtual sports” with AI and NFT

Eric Pulier, CEO of Vatom, spoke at the UNESCO “Change the Game” sports conference in Paris. His speech offered a future vision of the Esports Olympics, which includes “virtual sports”, competitions involving technologies such as AI, visual recognition, and NFT.

In practice, for Paulier, this new way of doing the Olympics will allow real-time remote competitions. Not only that, Paulier specified that these games will require a physical and mental excellence no less than that of today’s Olympic sports. 

At the same time, the future vision of the Esports Olympics will offer the opportunity to promote inclusion in all geographical areas and economic conditions.

Paulier also spoke about the rise of the Global Esports Federation (GEF), with its 173 affiliated federations, as the leading body in the sector. 

In this regard, Pulier will chair the Digital Transformation Commission (DTC) of the GEF, which brings together the main members of the global technology sector, creating a bridge between gaming, esports, sports, music, entertainment, and technology. 

Esports Olympics: promoting inclusion thanks to AI and other technologies

Besides Pulier, over 600 personalities and executives from Fortune 500 companies, as well as ministers and officials from around the world, attended the UNESCO event in Paris.

In fact, Paul J. Foster, CEO of the Global Esports Federation (GEF), Gabriela Ramos, Deputy Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO, and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Yunus Sports Hub and Grameen Bank, also intervened.

The future vision of the Esports Olympics also sees the participation of Vatom, the platform by Pulier that will lead the GEF CTO Office. In this regard, Vatom will take care of powering its interoperable fan engagement platform (GEFx) and integrating partners worldwide.

Not only that, for the occasion, Vatom will develop a global token using the new NFFT format that combines artificial intelligence and embedded game designs.

In this regard, Paul J. Foster, CEO of the GEF, commented:

“We are excited to welcome Eric Pulier and Vatom Corporation to our #worldconnected mission. As the world moves from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to Vatom’s hometown for LA28, the combination of world-class technology and GEF’s global reach will enable us to serve billions of esports fans around the world and drive positive impact in the countries and communities of GEF’s 173 Member Federations.”

The game based on Tezos Blockchain

At the end of July, before the inauguration of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Athletics Rush by TapNation was launched, a digital athletics game based on Tezos Blockchain.

The new game promises an engaging experience with global competitions, various game modes, and blockchain rewards for players around the world. 

Athletics Rush offers players the opportunity to jump, run, and launch themselves on mobile, through various challenges, and traveling through various countries, as well as compete in global leaderboards. 

In reality, the integration with the Tezos blockchain will take place at the end of August, when the Olympics will already be over. 

Yesterday, the launch of a game for the Paris Olympics was announced, which will be based on the Tezos Blockchain.

This is Athletics Rush by TapNation, a digital athletics game.

Tezos: the blockchain game on the occasion of the Paris Olympics

Athletics Rush was released yesterday, a few days before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

It promises an engaging mobile gaming experience with global competitions, various game modes, and blockchain rewards for players all over the world.

The integration with the blockchain di Tezos however will take place only at the end of August, after the Olimpiadi have concluded.

Athletics Rush offers players the chance to jump, run, and launch themselves on mobile through various challenges, traveling across different countries and competing in the global rankings. 

The main features of the game include different game modes to master athletic skills, opportunities to improve skills and collect medals, and the possibility to explore different athletic villages and their unique cultures. 

In addition to competing globally and climbing the rankings, it also allows players to win prizes, such as trips and sports equipment.

The game has been developed to integrate Web3 elements in the future, while at the same time ensuring a smooth and enjoyable user experience. In fact, it is designed for a wide audience, including those players who love satisfying gameplay and sports enthusiasts, so it is not created solely for the common Web3 users.

TapNation

Athletics Rush was created by TapNation.

TapNation is one of the leading publishers of mobile games, with a portfolio of over 50 games and over 1 billion downloads.

It is a publisher that helps developers take their games to the next level, equipped with an international and creative team that also leverages the power of new technologies to offer fun and successful gaming experiences to players around the world.

Tezos blockchain develops a Web3 game for the Paris Olympics

Tezos is an open-source project with a scalable and energy-efficient public blockchain that allows developers and businesses to deploy low-cost applications. 

This is one of the original blockchains based on Proof-of-Stake, so much so that the project began back in 2014. 

Over the years, it has created several partnerships and strategic collaborations, for example, in the online gaming sector and Web3. 

Even in 2022, it launched a vertical on games, thus recording a significant increase in activity. For example, in the first quarter of 2024 alone, the number of monthly active users increased by 500%. 

The crypto XTZ 

Tezos also has its own native cryptocurrency, called XTZ.

Despite the growth of the ecosystem, the price of XTZ is still in significant bear. 

Compared to the all-time high of 2021, 9.1$, the current 0.75$ is almost 92% less. 

In fact, the current market value is even less than half of what it was at the time of its launch on the crypto markets in 2018, when it was around 2$. 

At the end of 2020, before the last great bullrun began, it had returned to about $2, after having dropped below $0.5, so during the bear-market of 2022/2023 it lost everything it had gained during the great bullrun of 2021. 

The absolute historical minimum, reached in 2018, was $0.35, or just under half of the current value, and the bottom of the latest bear-market was $0.62 reached in October 2023. 

During the course of 2024, it had tried to return to $1.5, but starting from April, it began a new correction phase that brought it down even below $0.7 at the beginning of July. 

The Web3 games

The digital online game is a huge market. 

Within this market, a niche is constituted by the so-called Web3 games, that is, those that use blockchain-based technologies and cryptocurrencies. 

According to a recent market research, the Web3 gaming sector is expected to grow significantly over the next ten years, reaching a value of over 130 billion dollars by 2033. The growth will be driven by decentralization and security. 

The use of blockchain-based tools is capable of offering players tangible advantages, such as, for example, a deeper interaction with game assets. Additionally, it allows developers to reward players in cryptocurrencies. 

The comment

The Web3 manager of TapNation, Philippe Lenormand, stated: 

“With Athletics Rush, our goal was to create a fun and satisfying experience that perfectly incorporates Web3 elements. Based on Tezos, we can enhance player retention and provide rewarding experiences without disrupting the core gameplay.”

The Global Head del gioco presso TZ APAC, Jeremy Foo, ha aggiunto: 

“Tezos offers a secure and sustainable blockchain platform that perfectly aligns with the vision of Athletics Rush. We are pleased to introduce blockchain technology to enhance the user experience without compromising the fun and engaging nature of the game.”

In a few weeks, the Summer Olympics 2024 will begin in Paris and to celebrate the event, the digital pins NFTs of the mascot have been launched on Base. 

The news was given directly by nWay, the division of Animoca Brands that deals with Web3. 

The launch takes place through My Olympic Rewards and the Onchain Summer campaign by Coinbase.

Paris 2024 Olympics: the NFT of the mascots on Base

These NFTs launched by nWay represent the digital pins of the Paris 2024 mascot, and were launched specifically to celebrate these Olympic Games.

The idea is to capture the playful spirit and energy of the Olympics with digital collectible items. 

The NFT are available in two different designs with two different rarity levels: Epic and Legendary.

The first design (A) is that of the Paris 2024 mascot waving, available in both Epic and Legendary rarity levels.

The second (B) is the one of the Paris 2024 mascot with a flag, always available with Epic or Legendary rarity level. 

The claim of the NFTs of the Paris Olympics on Base

There are different ways to request the NFTs of the digital pins of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games mascot.

The requests started yesterday, July 9, through Coinbase’s Onchain Summer campaign. The request period ends on August 12, and users will need to go to the Magic Eden platform to request and redeem the digital badge NFTs. 

The supporters of OGJ and VTG can obtain all four pins, while through the mint on Magic Eden they can obtain the Legendary B or the Epic A.  

The existing community of nWayPlay (NWP) and the supporters of Olympic Games Jam (OGJ) will receive the Legendary pin with the mascot waving exclusively. 

Users will also be able to request and redeem Epic B through My Olympic Rewards using the points earned to redeem a digital pin. 

For the OGJ/NWP community, it will be possible to enter the whitelist before July 23 by following the instructions contained in an email that will be sent. 

In order to receive the NFT, users must use their own crypto wallet that supports the Base chain. 

The layer-2 Base

Base is one of the most important layer-2s of Ethereum.

This is a chain designed and created by Coinbase, with the goal of making asset transfers on the main alternative chain to Bitcoin simpler and more economical.

The same Coinbase, that is the company which owns and manages the largest American crypto exchange, is involved in the initiative, given that the claim of these NFT is also possible thanks to their official Onchain Summer campaign. 

Onchain Summer is a campaign that actually started last year, as an invitation to creators to launch their projects on Base.

In fact, Onchain technology allows anyone to be paid directly by their supporters with almost no fees, to have full ownership of their original digital works, and to build direct relationships with their community.

The creator of Base, Jesse Pollak, stated: 

“We are more than excited about the launch of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games mascot NFT digital pins as part of Onchain Summer. This drop captures the innovative spirit of Onchain Summer, offering not only a piece of Olympic history but also showcasing the potential of Onchain technology to bring brands closer to their fans. By bringing these NFTs to the community, we aim to create a memorable and unforgettable experience for people all over the world”.

The 2024 Olympics

As part of the initiatives of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5, the CIO (Comité International Olympique) which officially organizes the Olympics has developed a global licensing program aimed at strengthening and promoting the Olympic brand. 

The main licensing programs of the CIO include The Olympic Collection, which aims to engage a young audience with unique branded products, including clothing, toys and games, bags, stationery items, and sports equipment. 

In this way on the Olympic Shop official website (shop.olympics.com) all the official merchandise is on sale, with collectible items and souvenirs that belong to all the Olympic merchandising programs. 

In addition to the Olympic Collection, there is also the Olympic Heritage Collection, which celebrates the art and design of past Olympic Games, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games collections that celebrate each upcoming edition of the Games, such as Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026, and LA28. 

nWay

nWay is a subsidiary of Animoca Brands.

In turn, Animoca Brands is one of the leading publishers and developers of multiplatform games. 

The American company has a proven track record in providing AAA games on mobile devices and consoles, such as Wreck League, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, Olympic Games Jam: Beijing 2022, and ChronoBlade. 

nWay is formed by a group of developers and executives with decades of experience in the video game industry.