Quick take:
- CCP Games has raised $40 million in a funding round led by A16z.
- The fundraising also attracted participation from Makers Fund, Bitkraft, Kingsway Capital, Nexon, and Hashed among others.
- CCP is building a new web3 game based on the Eve Universe.
CCP Games has completed a $40 million round for a new AAA blockchain game based on the Eve Online Universe. The funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz (A16z) with participation from Makers Fund, Bitkraft, Kingsway Capital, Nexon, and Hashed, among others.
CCP Games CEO, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson said it will use the fresh capital to revamp its research and development team as it develops the new triple-A blockchain game.
The game will integrate smart contract blockchain technology to create a gaming economy that connects players with immersive 3D worlds.
“Since its inception, CCP Games’ vision has been to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life. Now, with advancements made within [the blockchain industry], we can forge a new universe deeply imbued with our expertise in player agency and autonomy, empowering players to engage in new ways,” Pétursson told GamesBeat.
CCP Games has been developing virtual games for nearly two decades now. The company was founded in 1997 as a video game developer and publisher and launched Eve Online Universe in May 2003.
South Korea-based Pearl Abyss, the creator of Black Desert, bought CCP Games for $425 million in 2018. Therefore, CCP Games is part of one of the largest video gaming publishing companies in the world.
However, given the new direction taken for its latest AAA title, the company found it necessary to bring in new funding and expertise.
Like most games in the Eve Online Universe, the game features intense battles between spaceships of multiple factions in a fictitious universe. Although the game is set in the Eve Universe, it is entirely independent of the popular online game.
Petursson last year ruled out ever integrating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into the Eve Online Universe, but maintained the company is not against NFTs.
Commenting on his company’s leading role in the funding round, General Partner, Jonathan Lai, in a statement: “CCP Games is a pioneer in virtual worlds and digital economies with 25 years of experience creating living sandboxes with unparalleled depth. They’re a veteran team and we believe in their ambitious vision to deliver incredible player experiences at the intersection of best-in-class game design and blockchain technology.”
On the other hand, Makers Fund principal Alli Óttarsson who previously worked at CCP Games expressed his delight to reunite with his former employers saying: “The depth and nuances of EVE have become a frequent point of reference in blockchain gaming and we
are therefore thrilled to support the team’s impressive vision of expanding the EVE Universe utilising this technology.”
Bitkraft Ventures partner Carlos Pereira commented: “We’ve long marvelled at stories of interstellar war, spaceships forever lost, and the constant challenges of staying ahead of emergent, sovereign play patterns. Hilmar and the team’s experience is unmatched, and we’re excited to see how they use blockchain to let players dream further.”
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