Quick take:
- UnCaged Studios’ first release is esports franchise, MonkeyLeague.
- The startup provides infrastructure for building Web3 games.
- Funds will be used to further develop MonkeyLeague and UnCaged Studio’s own platform, Game OS.
Israeli game developer, UnCaged Studios, today announced that it has raised $24 million in a Series A funding round, led by Griffin Gaming Partners. Additional investors include Vgames, Maverick Ventures Israel, Drive by DraftKings and 6th Man Ventures.
The Series A fundraising began in April and closed last month. According to an UnCaged spokesperson, the fresh funding brings the gaming studio’s valuation to over $150 million.
As part of the deal, Nick Tuosto, managing director of Griffin Gaming Partners, has joined UnCaged’s board of directors, according to The Block.
“Griffin Gaming Partners is excited to back UnCaged, which has assembled one of the most capable teams in the industry,” said Nick Tuosto, Managing Director of Griffin Gaming Partners and LionTree. “We believe new models of digital property ownership in Gaming have the potential to support lasting player engagement and balanced digital economies, but that it will take incredibly talented and experienced teams to unlock the potential of blockchain games.”
UnCaged Studios’ first release is esports play-and-earn franchise, MonkeyLeague, a soccer game built on Solana. The game has more than 4,000 NFT holders and over 330,000 followers on social media.
The startup also owns Game OS, a platform that provides core technical functionality, infrastructure and live operations services to Web3 game studios as well as Web2 developers looking to get into the blockchain gaming space.
Game OS provides the Web3 technical aspects of launching a game, such as user and economy management, wallet integration, token custody, and technical NFT frameworks.
The funds will be used to further develop MonkeyLeague and future games released through the Game OS platform.
“Raising a major round in this market environment definitely became harder, and our success a clear testament to the skill and execution of our team,” said Raz Friedman. “We will use this funding well to bring about the next wave of adoption from game developers and users.”
UnCaged is co-founded by brothers Raz and Tal Friedman. Raz Friedman was previously the CPO at Playtika, while Tal Friedman was the former General Manager for Playtika’s House of Fun. At UnCaged Studios, the brothers have reprised their previous roles from Playtika.
The studio currently has 38 employees and is actively hiring across various functions to expand its team.
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