Upland Co-CEO and Co-Founder Dirk Lueth announces its strategic partnership with ON1 FORCE, during Asia’s leading web3 conference, WebX
 
TOKYO, Japan, July 26, 2023 – Upland, the leading Web3 Metaverse Superapp, marks its entry into Japan as a strategic market for continued growth by partnering with the original bluechip anime PFP project in web3, ON1 FORCE. The partnership allows Upland to foster local Japanese growth in time for its Tokyo city opening with an offering that celebrates the Japanese anime culture. With the success of its recent acquisition by crypto veterans Old Fashion Research (OLF), ON1 FORCE is excited to continue its mission to create a new generation of cross-platform IP that allows for the co-creation of the ON1VERSE by combining comic book storytelling with Web3 gaming.  

ON1 Force will enter Upland as part of a much-anticipated expansion that will see Tokyo, the first city in Asia, to launch on the platform mapped to its real world counterpart. This innovative strategy offers a glimpse into the potential of PFP value creation in metaverse economies. While many NFT projects are continuously searching for ways to add value to their original holders, building their own metaverse is an expensive and superfluous undertaking. Instead, ON1 FORCE is utilizing the existing mechanism developed in Upland to build their “home and hub” on the platform, via a “takeover” of an exclusive neighborhood minting within Upland’s digital replica of the expansive Japanese capital. 

“The partnership between Upland and ON1 FORCE is supported by the fact that two strong communities are behind the momentum of their digital and physical presence,” says Dirk Lueth Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Upland. “While our entry into Japan is strategic for its growing strides towards web3 gaming, we are even more excited to support more blue chip NFT communities to build their home in Upland.”

The coming opening of Tokyo is one of the most anticipated events of the year for Upland’s community of more than four million registered players, and will see ON1 FORCE NFT holders gain some exclusive perks when building their community in the game. For instance, holders will be able to claim a unique, ON1 FORCE-branded Block Explorer, or game-piece NFT, once they level up to ”Uplander” status within Upland. As they progress further to “Director” status, they’ll be able to claim a 1/1 derivative of their original ON1 FORCE NFT.

“Upland is an exciting platform that we are partnering with to expand our Japanese network and give Japanese artists and brands a way to connect with the outside world,” says On1 Force President and CEO Henry Finn.  “Upland has many great partnerships, such as FIFA and UNICEF, which shows their ability to transcend the normal idea of what a metaverse is.”

ON1 FORCE’s entrance into Upland adds a new dynamic to the next generation of cross-platform IP. Because Upland is a decentralized world where players retain full ownership of their in-game assets, it will enable the ON1 FORCE community to come together and carve out its very own niche in the world’s most dynamic metaverse. After the initial Tokyo mint, Upland will continue to work with ON1 FORCE, to create additional surprises and perks for NFT holders, including unique wearable assets, map asset NFTs and exclusive metaverse meetups in Upland’s social Cafes, powered by Nowhere 3D Spaces and Ready Player Me avatars, in order to create further initiatives that aim to celebrate Japan’s anime culture in exciting ways. 

Upland is one of the largest metaverses on the blockchain. Mapped to the real world, Upland’s immersive economy is spread across dozens of global cities accessible via the Web, iOS, and Android. It’s based on an open, user-driven economy that’s founded on three key pillars: Play, Earn and Connect.


About UPLAND

Upland is an open web3 platform for the metaverse mapped to the real world. The company’s mission is to build one of the leading and most dynamic maker-communities through a strong entrepreneur economy that allows players, creators, developers, and brands to manufacture goods and experiences, monetize assets, and provide utility and fun to other players. Headquartered in Silicon Valley with hubs in Las Vegas, Ukraine, and Brazil, Upland was named among Fast Company’s “Next Big Things in Tech” in 2021 and one of “22 San Francisco Startups To Watch in 2022” by Built In SF. Upland is committed to becoming carbon negative and is a proud partner of Carbonfuture. For more information about our sustainability commitment visit https://www.upland.me/sustainability. Upland is available on iOS, Android and the Web, and can be played from anywhere in the world.

About ON1 FORCE 

ON1 Force is a media and technology company that brings together the best in anime and gaming from both web2 and Web3.  Minted in August 2021, ON1 a Force generated over $140 million in trade volume in 60 days with notable holders including Snoop Dogg, Gary Vee, Logan Paul, and more, and celebrity partners including DJ Steve Aoki, Kakuberry, UFC champion Israel Adesanya, and now NFL champion Juju Smith-Schuster. A collection of 7,777 unique generative side-profile characters with over 100 hand-drawn features, the ON1 Force is a thriving community that now boasts over 20K members. Alongside the art, stands a strong community that has not only helped 0N1 Force get momentum in the digital, and physical, realms but has collectively created and inspired the lore behind the project. The journey of 0N1 FORCE began in late 2021 with the launch of its collection of 7,777 NFTs featuring unique side-on faces known as "0N1s." As one of the first original anime NFT collections on the market, 0N1 FORCE has amassed a transaction volume exceeding 54,000 ETH (approximately $90 million USD) across various marketplaces, maintaining a strong floor price of 1.5 ETH. Following multiple strategic announcements in their 2023 “comeback tour”, On1 Force recently teamed up with visualization firm and software developer Theia Interactive to collectively launch ‘On1 World’ within the immersive realm of Fortnite Creative 2.0.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Lindsay Anne Aamodt
Upland Me, Inc.
press@upland.me
+1 917 531 0658