Republic Records has stepped into the world of gaming with a significant new enterprise and Houston’s personal Sauce Walka is a participant in an sudden means.

The label has introduced a strategic partnership with developer Nothing Projects Interactive to launch OnlyHands, a real-time cellular combating recreation impressed by the cult legacy of Def Jam: Fight for NY. The title is slated for launch in late 2025.

Sauce Walka isn’t only a featured character, he’s a part of the inventive DNA.

“Proud to announce the future/present of Hip-Hop gaming,” Sauce Walka wrote on Instagram. “We have been begging for a video game like this since Def Jam Vendetta & Def Jam: Fight for NY… now it’s finally here… ‘OnlyHands’ is the elite Hip-Hop (open world) fighting game featuring the industry’s top artist & most influentially cultured figures in the RAPGAME. Real hands will be THROWN.”

Walka seems prominently in early trailers and has publicly said he’s working with the event crew, injecting the sport along with his signature mix of vitality, humor and authenticity. His involvement has already helped push OnlyHands past a typical music-industry tie-in towards one thing followers are starting to view as a full-scale cultural occasion.

Republic has not but confirmed which artists will seem as playable fighters, however the roster potential is very large. The label’s lineup contains Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi, Ariana Grande, Lorde, Taylor Swift and others.

Avery Lipman, Founder of Republic Records and Vice Chairman/COO of Republic Collective, stated the partnership represents a deliberate push into digital tradition.

“They’ve created a new paradigm with OnlyHands,” Lipman stated. “It’s a seamless platform for the integration of gaming, music, and culture.”

Nothing Projects Interactive describes OnlyHands as a “music-first” ecosystem constructed on 4 pillars:
• Combat-driven streaming, the place match victories set off actual music streams
• Playable artist avatars designed round every performer’s model and identification
• Instant content material drops, permitting artists to push new strikes, cosmetics, or tracks in actual time
• A related fan financial system, merging streams, in-game rewards, and digital purchases

CEO Zane Comer stated the intention is to not mix industries however to ascertain a brand new medium.
“Gaming and music were never truly separate—they just hadn’t found their native form,” Comer defined. “What we’re building isn’t a crossover, it’s a new medium.”

The venture arrives as Republic’s dad or mum firm, Universal music Group, expands deeper into interactive leisure, together with ventures in Roblox, metaverse fan experiences, and instruments that combine artists like Lil Wayne immediately into video games.

Meanwhile, OnlyHands is already constructing an internet group via playful world-building, fictional “studies,” teaser clips, and cameos from Boosie, Key Glock, Kodak Black, and others.

But at this early stage, Sauce Walka is the loudest voice championing the sport, positioning himself as each a personality and a cultural architect.

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