Quick take:
- Fenix Games has raised $150 million in a round backed by Phoenix Group and Cypher Capital.
- The web3 games maker said the plan is to build a gigantic blockchain gaming franchise.
- Fenix Games expects consolidation to follow in blockchain games with the industry set to be dominated by a few mega players.
Fenix Games has announced a $150 million fundraising backed by Phoenix Group and Cypher Capital. The web3 games’ developer wants to build a giant blockchain gaming franchise by acquiring and funding the best startups in the industry.
The company believes that the next phase in the blockchain gaming industry will be the consolidation phase with a few dominant players emerging to take blockchain gaming to the next level.
The company is targeting both existing and new blockchain games, as it shapes to spearhead the evolution of the industry.
Chris Ko, CEO and co-founder of Fenix Games, who describes his company as being more like a VC fund in an interview with GamesBeat commented: “The market is similar to earlier [mobile gaming at the rise of free-to-play games] but it hasn’t found its Clash of Clans for blockchain games yet. We’re using the VC arm to fund the next generation of games.”
Ko said Fenix Games will start with a base capital to invest in free-to-play gaming studios, as it assesses acquisition opportunities in the web2 gaming space. “that will be the right base for our portfolio,” added Ko.
Citing the evolution of gaming from consoles to online and mobile gaming platforms, Ko said that whilst the markets exist for those two segments of the industry, there isn’t a market for blockchain games yet.
This explains the company’s approach to building its foundation with free-to-play and web3 gaming studios. It will be a case of onboarding gamers from web2 and free-to-play mobile games to web3, rather than trying to build a community based entirely on blockchain gamers.
“We plan to acquire, invest, publish, and operate in select cases games and studios,” said Ko. “We will have a few hundred million to deploy to execute our strategy.”
Blockchain game makers have been accused of not focusing on creating quality games to build the market and Ko agrees. He said that although the blockchain is a great platform for the next gaming cycle, “[developers] do not appear to be focused on building the market for gamers.”
“We believe that this is temporary as the primary apps on chains are going to be gaming,” Ko said. “The infrastructure, tools and support just do not exist. We believe there is an opportunity for the role of Publishing to elevate its role in the gaming ecosystem.”
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