Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, a strategic 200 million $ARB initiative from the Arbitrum DAO previously known as The Gaming Catalyst, has officially revealed that it has invested $10 million into ecosystem projects related to blockchain gaming.
This marks the venture initiative’s first big investment into web3 gaming on Arbitrum, and its been made together with VCs that include Paradigm, Framework, and BITKRAFT. With their commitment of $10 million in capital, all investors of this round are focused on supporting a group of “experienced founders, innovative distribution models,” and the creation of quality web3 gaming experiences across multiple different genres.
Rick Johanson, Partner at Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, said the following in a press release:
“Arbitrum Gaming Ventures is backing proven founders who aren’t just making games—they’re helping create an even more vibrant Arbitrum ecosystem. This first cohort reflects our commitment to supporting high-quality experiences that are built for the long term—products that attract players, retain them, and expand meaningful engagement across Arbitrum.”
For this first investment tranche, there are publishing platforms, game developers, emerging distribution channels, and blockchain infrastructure that is said to span AAA experiences, social, and casual categories. Let’s take a look at all of the projects that have received funding to help them accelerate development and create high-quality products that can lead to web3 gaming ecosystem growth.
A total of 5 web3 gaming projects have been funded in this first cohort from Arbitrum Gaming Ventures and associated investors: Wildcard, Hyve Labs, T-Rex, Xai, and Proof of Play.
Wildcard is a 2v2 card-based MOBA in which players choose from a variety of distinct champions and dive into action-packed third-person matches in various arenas while using companion cards to summon special allies for a tactical advantage. Further spicing up intense battles are social spectator features that lets viewers activate live events, reactions and effects for dynamic, unpredictable gameplay. This web3 game is co-founded by Paul Bettner and Katy Drake Bettner, with the former known for Age of Empires and Words With Friends. They're backed by Griffin Gaming Partners and Paradigm, and have chosen Arbitrum as their web3 game’s new home, with co-CEO at Wildcard Alliance, Katy Drake Bettner, stating the following in the press release:
“Wildcard has, from day one, been deliberate about our approach to the convergence of blockchain and games. Arbitrum Gaming Ventures represents a commitment to supporting real use cases for blockchain in games and we are thrilled to be part of their first cohort.”
Wildcard has officially been listed on Steam earlier this year, and you can wishlist the game and sign up for closed alpha playtests if you’d like a chance to play ahead of release.
Hyve Labs is a web3 gaming studio and ecosystem focused on building a gaming rollup to enable frictionless gaming and seamless integration of in-house and partner games that can be played in real-time with friends across social media platforms such as Telegram, X, Farcaster, web browsers, and more. Early this year, Hyve Labs secured $2.75 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Framework Ventures.
T-Rex is a blockchain purposely built for consumer applications, with the aim of developing a dynamic ecosystem in which blockchain tech is seamlessly integrated into daily online interactions. Their team has a “strong presence” in Southeast Asia, which aligns with Arbitrum Gaming Ventures’ strategy of expanding Arbitrum into rapidly-growing international markets and gaming regions.
Xai is said to be the world’s first Layer 3 indie gaming chain that aims to bring the scale of Steam and Epic Games Store to the blockchain space. It’s powered by Arbitrum Orbit and has introduced a Proof-of-Skill system this year to integrate 40k+ Steam games into web3.
Proof of Play is an on-chain gaming studio and tech company known for their flagship blockchain RPG Pirate Nation. They’re backed by a16z and led by FarmVille co-creator Amitt Mahajan, with the team said to represent a “key ecosystem pillar” for Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, as they’re creating and scaling on-chain games and dApps that can be played by millions of gamers, with Pirate Nation said to be “anchored” to the network’s ecosystem to drive long-term engagement and activity.
Dan Peng, Partner at Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, added the following regarding their investment into these promising companies and projects:
“We’re excited to welcome new founders to Arbitrum, as well as to support established builders on the network such as Xai. Arbitrum Gaming Ventures’ first cohort of companies diversifies not only our portfolio and global footprint, but also our growing developer community.”
Throughout the past few months, we’ve seen a number of web3 gaming projects secure grants from the Arbitrum Foundation, including Tarta Games for Spot Zero development, Sanko for AI-powered UGC tools, and L3E7 for continued development of their anime-themed and location-based cyberpunk RPG.
Login with Wallet
Sponsored Ad
Play games now
