Quick take:
- Hashkey Capital, Polygon Ventures, Formless Capital and Adaverse also participated in the fundraising.
- The company is also backed by gaming and investment heavyweights Griffin Gaming Partners, Riot Games, and Sony Innovation Fund.
- Players will be able to use experience points (XP) to unlock game content and access rewards, including in-game content.
Forge has completed an $11 million seed round led by Makers Fund, BITKRAFT Ventures and Animoca Brands. The Fundraising also attracted participation from Hashkey Capital, Polygon Ventures, Formless Capital and Adaverse.
The company is backed by gaming industry heavyweights Griffin Gaming Partners and Riot Games, as well as, the Japanese tech investor Sony Innovation Fund.
Forge also boasts a strong list of angel investors including Riot Games founder Marc Merrill, Twitch founders Emmett Shear and Kevin Lin, TSM founder Dan Dinh, Kabam founders Kevin Chou and Holly Liu, YouTube founder Steve Chen, Krafton CEO CH Kim, former Discord CMO Eros Resmini (The Mini Fund), and ESL founder Ralf Reichart.
Forge is building a video game platform that leverages modern gaming experiences like the ability to earn rewards and virtual currencies to reward gamers for their achievements.
According to the announcement, the company is also launching the first beta platform, which allows gamers to unlock the value of their gaming profiles and be rewarded for their contributions to gaming communities.
“We wanted to create a platform that finally rewards gamers for being who they are, through their profile and history as a gamer, through their passion, engagement, and community participation,” said Kun Gao, co-founder of Forge.
This fundraising comes at a time when startup funding for Web3 projects is declining. However, according to DappRadar, GameFi projects continue to attract venture capital interest, after raising over $2.3 billion this year.
Forge is tapping into some of the strongest selling points for Web3 games, by allowing players to control their gaming life. “While Forge is just now entering beta, we already have an incredible lineup of dozens of games and partners who are looking to grow with us by giving gamers something special for joining their community,” Gao added.
At launch, users will be able to link their gaming accounts and their social accounts to create a Forge profile, which gives them access to a seasonal Season Pass. They can then complete quests that earn them experience points (XP) to level up their Season Pass unlock game content and access rewards.
Some of the rewards offered to players include game skins, item/character unlocks, virtual currency, and early beta access to offers.
Andrew Willson, Partner at Makers Fund commented: “We expect Forge to become a critical part of the gaming ecosystem for players and developers alike. Developers can offer deeper engagement around their games, and provide rewards systems that benefit gamers and strengthen their relationships with the games they love.”
Forge has partnered with notable blockchain games including Genopets, Mojo Melee, Pixelmon, Portal Fantasy, Rushdown Revolt and Animoca Brands subsidiary, The Sandbox to headline the launch week. The company plans to add new games each week during the beta period.
Carlos Pereira, Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures added: “What sets Forge apart is its unique flywheel approach, starting with carefully curated games and questing incentives to support community growth. This strategy creates an enriched user experience, driving more traffic to the platform and attracting games, studios, and publishers to join, resulting in a diverse selection of high-quality games expertly curated by Forge.”
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