Beer, gambling and crypto: Budweiser races into Zed Run’s NFT games
Budweiser and Zed Run have partnered to deploy tokenized Clydesdale draught horses in Zed Run’s virtual NFT-based horse racing and wagering game.
Budweiser’s latest action follows a $120,000 investment in nonfungible token fan art and the purchase of the beer.eth domain name through the Ethereum Name Service in August 2021.
Zed Run was established in early 2019 by Sydney-based Virtually Human Studio, and its racing horse NFTs were first sold for $30 to $80 to mint, but have since become highly sought-after assets that trade for thousands of dollars on secondary markets. In April 2021, one user sold a single racehorse for $125,000.
The Budweiser Clydesdales are a well-known bunch of horses that have been used in company promotions and advertising, and Budweiser is a significant sponsor of horse racing events throughout the world.
Starting on Friday, 2,500 Budweiser Pass NFTs will be available for purchase (to users aged 21 and over) for a maximum of 24 hours. The NFTs will set you back $225 each, plus gas.
In July and September, Zed Run will hold two Budweiser Racing Challenges, each with a prize pool of $45,000. In December, there will be a $95,000 tournament with the chance to win a year’s supply of Budweiser beer.
In July, Hodler’s of the NFTs will receive Cyldesdale skin NFTs, which may be used to customize existing racehorse NFTs in the game, as well as Budweiser t-shirt wearables, which can be worn by avatars in the Decentraland metaverse, where Zed Run’s virtual headquarters are located.
The duo will release 1,600 Classic Clydesdales, 800 Bud Bottle Clydesdales, and 100 Gold Clydesdales in variable proportions.
After the tournaments are finished, the project will award rewards to everyone who burns their Budweiser pass NFT; however, the details have yet to be announced.
The move is “an example of how we’re always innovating and embracing emerging technologies, like NFTs, to create memorable experiences for fans and boost our brand,” according to Spencer Gordon, vice president of consumer relationships at AB InBev, Budweiser’s beer maker.