Why HV-MTL Ethereum Mechs Are Coming to Arena Shooter ‘Shatterline’

After a change of ownership this spring, the Faraway, a gaming startup that still works closely with Yuga and ShatterlineAccording to Paley, Faraway had been chatting with Shatterline developer Frag Lab since 2022 about potentially implementing Web3 functionality. However, he said, Frag Lab wanted to get the gameplay polished and set before considering any such additions.The Rift opens.HV-MTL x Shatterline coming 2024. pic.twitter.com/oblCWShpL6— Faraway (@farawaygg) July 2, 2024“We thought it looked absolutely incredible,” Paley said of early Shatterline playtests.Faraway began discussions with Yuga Labs earlier this year about acquiring the HV-MTL and Mara IP in an effort to expand them across a potentially wide array of games. Yuga co-founder and CEO Greg “Garga” Solano had admitted that the Bored Ape maker had stretched itself thin with too many projects, and Paley said that being able to team up with Shatterline on this collaboration factored into its decision to go ahead with the Yuga deal, since there was a polished, competitive action game on the horizon that Faraway believed the IP would work well within. He also sees HV-MTL and Mara IP as a way to differentiate Shatterline from the crowded pack of shooters.“That’s what pushed us over the edge to really go through with it,” Paley said.Paley said to expect a Q4 2024 launch for Shatterline with its HV-MTL integration. He said that HV-MTL NFT owners will see “pretty significant power advantages” when using them as companions in the player-vs-environment expedition modes, and that Shatterline will offer both Web3 rewards (like tradable items) and traditional Web2 rewards for players.After the initial launch, Faraway plans to integrate more HV-MTL classes—and then dip into the Legends of the Mara IP, as teased at the end of the trailer, with Koda Maras, Shattered Goliaths, and other characters and creatures originally created by Yuga Labs.Frag Lab could have implemented “I just want to throw kudos to that team for building during the bear [market],” he said, “and waiting until the time was right.”