Artificial intelligence-driven fighting game AI Arena has set a date for its NRN token launch, following a play-to-airdrop campaign this spring.

Earlier this year, AI Arena let 8,000 users play its unique brawler game—built on Ethereum layer-2 scaling network, Arbitrum—while in pre-release for the chance to earn potential token rewards, with a campaign built around social media influencers. Now, those rewards are just around the corner.

Those who participated will be able to claim their tokens at 7am UTC on Monday, June 24, with a centralized exchange listing coming an hour later. Which exchange(s) the token will be listed on has yet to be announced, as of this writing.

AI Arena is a cartoonish brawling game akin to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. where players control their characters using artificial intelligence (AI). This is the unique hook for the game: Rather than button-mashing like other games in the fighting genre, you’re the fighter's coach aiming to clinch victory via extensive AI-driven training.

In March, the final round of the play-to-airdrop campaign ‘Gateway of the Arena’ concluded. This competition attempted to attract players while providing token rewards for playing the pre-release game.

The 8,000 players that took part earned a score based on how well their AI fighters performed. Each player was also part of a team headed by one of eight influencers, including the pseudonymous YellowPanther and Wale. Depending on the team's collective performance, players were rewarded with a potentially sizable airdrop multiplier. 

How well you, your AI, and your team performed impacted the size of your airdrop bag. Overall, AI Arena promises to airdrop 80 million NRN tokens—half from the play-to-airdrop drive and half tied to “NRN Boxes,” or reward boxes linked to community engagement.

In the future, AI Arena plans to launch a version that will require an NFT access pass to play. This version of the game will serve as the elite proving ground for the highest-level players, as the developer sees significant esports potential around this unique AI-driven fighting riff.

“Thank you to everyone who has been with us and believed in something,” the AI Arena announcement tweet read. “NRN is AI gaming. Believe in the journey ahead.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward