Web3 Gaming Funding In 2023
Manuel Olumorin
May 26, 2023
GM GM. Welcome to Lootbox, the north star in web3 gaming news.
Here are the gems today
Where is funding today
Metaverse land hype gone?
Rabbids invade Reddit
The Sneakies
Web3 Gaming Funding In 2023
It’s no secret that a big part of what is powering the development of web3 gaming is VC money.
And that funding pretty much went dry by the end of 2022. Thanks, Luna and FTX.
So what is it looking like in 2023?
As of mid-2023, we've seen 66 deals in web3 gaming, totalling around $430 million. Not much when you compare it to last year, where we saw $400 million in January alone. Did AI steal crypto’s thunder?
Where the money went
Mostly into specific web3 games or gaming studios - they got half of all the investment.
A fair bit (about 20%) went into the ecosystem like Play Ventures putting $5 million into the Nefta gaming platform. While metaverse funding was meh, showing the hype has gone down.
And who's throwing all this money around?
The top seven investors were responsible for 40% of all the deals. The biggest of them was a16z, with six deals making up 9% of the total. They even celebrated their gaming fund 1-year anniversary with this tweet.
We've hit the 1 year mark!!!! 🥳🥳🥳
A year ago, we raised GAMES FUND ONE, our first $660M fund focused on games. 25 investments and 10 new hires later, we’ve learned so much.
To celebrate, I'm going to share some slides we used to raise the fund. Yes, even VCs have to pitch :)
— andrew chen (@andrewchen)
May 22, 2023
Lootbringer’s take
Despite funding amount taking a nosedive, there is more activity than ever in web3 gaming. Last year’s funding riding us through!
Metaverse Land Hype Gone
In 2021 and 2022, Metaverse land NFTs were the rage. So where are they now?
Spoiler alert! No bueno.
Here is a chart for you to chew on.
Enough said!
Rabbids Invade Reddit
First Sandbox, now Reddit, the invasive species at Ubisoft, Rabbids, seem to enjoy invading ecosystems, and it’s brilliant!
They hopped into Reddit as free NFT avatars for user profiles. Each one is a Rabbid dressed up in different outfits and poses.
And Reddit users are eating it up fast! In fact, all the "Plunger Rabbid" and "Unicorn Rabbid" avatars have already been snapped up.
Also, the hype is showing up on OpenSea as well as the collection is the #1 trending NFT at the moment.
Why this is brilliant
The marketing strategy Ubisoft is using ties in cleanly with the characteristics of the Rabbids.
They are currently using partnerships in their go-to-market and have leveraged the trait of Rabbids invading ecosystems in the language and the story used in their creatives. Simply watch the trailer for the announcement.
Who knew a plunger was just what your Avatar needed? 🪠 In partnership with Ubisoft, we’re bringing @RabbidsOfficial to Reddit! Get your Rabbids #RedditCollectibles now.
— Reddit (@Reddit)
May 25, 2023
They also did the same thing when they announced their partnership with Sandbox.
The Sneakies
People seem to have woken up to the fact that NFTs are indeed valuable, as Artblocks sees a resurgence after Sotheby’s sale of 3AC’s NFT collections.
Despite the slow adoption of blockchain tech in gaming, industry leaders remain optimistic, saying it is worth the wait. They believe that just like mobile and VR games found their audience, blockchain games will too.
Facebook Gaming and Newzoo's survey shows that while hardcore gamers are driving the metaverse buzz, it's the casual gamers who will lead to its mass adoption.
Steve Cho, Partner at Mechanism Capital, chats about the current state of the web3 gaming industry and the impact of the crypto market landscape on VC funding.
Funded Gems
Pomerium, a web3 gaming studio, just bagged a cool $20 million from a mystery angel investor.
Openfort, a blockchain infrastructure startup, raised $3 million for their super smooth web3 wallet for game developers and publishers.
Arena of Faith, a multiplayer online battle royale (MOBA) game, secured $1.75 million in a seed funding round led by Chain Hill Capital. They're aiming to set up a decentralized tournament system for MOBA esports.
Metagame Industries, another web3 game studio, wrapped up a strategic funding round. They're planning to use the funds to supercharge the development of their dark fantasy RPG, Abyss Worlds.
BoomLand, a web3 game publisher and the brains behind the RPG title Hunters On-Chain, closed a $1 million pre-seed round.
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