Non-fungible token (NFT) platform Candy Digital has partnered with video streaming company Netflix to celebrate the release of the fourth season of the Stranger Things series through digital collectibles. Launched last Friday, this is Candy’s first NFT collection outside of sports.
Candy developed an online game that resembles Stranger Things Universe and is driven by clues, puzzles, and challenges from the season. There will be 11,353 collectibles that players can earn for free through participation, and an additional collection will be available for purchase later in the year.
Stranger Things’ first season launched in 2016 and has since been one of the most successful shows on Netflix. On Monday, Nielsen said the fourth season experienced five billion viewer minutes in a week, just the third show to achieve the feat. While it attracts an audience from various demographics, the target audience is young teenagers, a market that is also likely to be interested in online games.
Besides only having operated in the sports space so far, Candy has also primarily sold collectibles rather than rewards in this case. Assuming the project is successful, NFTs as rewards might become a more frequent structure for Candy. It is also a safer introduction to NFTs for a new audience.
Candy’s stronger presence in the sports space is partly due to having sports licensing firm Fanatics as its majority shareholder. Fanatics co-founded the firm with Galaxy Digital and Gary Vaynerchuk. It raised $100 million led by Softbank in October last year at a $1.5 billion valuation. The partnership with Netflix may open doors to a greater presence in the entertainment industry beyond sports.
Currently, Candy has partnerships with Major League Baseball, some NASCAR teams, WWE, and was in the running for Premier League NFT rights.
