Quick take:
- The round was co-led by Collab + Currency and Patron.
- StoryCo is launching its first story universe, The Disco Ball.
- The Disco Ball’s interactive narrative will unfold across the StoryCo site, social media and real-world interactions.
Web3 media platform, StoryCo, today announced the closing of a $6 million seed round led by Collab + Currency and Patron.
The round was joined by prominent names in art, media, games, entertainment, and technology industries. They include Floodgate Ventures, Blockchange Ventures, Sfermion, Flamingo DAO and angels Lloyd Braun, Sabrina Hahn, Packy McCormick, NFT influencer GMoney, and executives from Hollywood talent agencies UTA and WME.
Alongside the funding announcement, StoryCo has also announced the launch of its token-gated storytelling platform where fans and creators join forces to build media franchises and participate in their success.
While most stories have an ending, StoryCo says on its website that its stories “have no end and no limitations.” The platform’s first production is The Disco Ball, an interactive narrative written by Story Architect Kyle Killen, the showrunner of Halo, Fear Street: Part One – 1994, Awake, and Mind Games. The story’s artwork is created by the artist duo shelby and sandy, who have over 500,000 followers on Instagram.
Releasing on the StoryCo platform early this year, The Disco Ball’s interactive narrative will unfold across the StoryCo site, social media and real-world interactions. As the story unfolds, the StoryCo community would have to decipher puzzles, discover artifacts, and solve quests.
To participate, community members can claim their Disco Ball StoryPass to collect and earn digital art related to key story moments and characters, culminating in an exclusive piece of rare digital art that also gives them the right to impact the future of The Disco Ball story.
“Historically, fans of the most well-known stories and IP are often downplayed as mere consumers, not as owners, collaborators, or sources of inspiration. That changes today,” said Derek Edward Schloss, Managing Partner at Collab+Currency.
StoryCo is not the first platform to have successfully raised funds to produce decentralised media IP, though it might be the first to integrate real-world interactions into its IP’s narrative.
Last December, Shibuya, a Web3 film distribution platform founded by NFT artist Pplpleasr, raised $6.9 million in a seed round led by a16z and Variant. The platform allows filmmakers to create content funded by fans instead of Hollywood studios, and also enables users to engage, fund, decide outcomes and become owners of long-form video content.
Invisible Universe, an internet-first animation studio raised $12 million in series A funding last August to launch its first Web3 franchise, The R3al Metaverse, a community-driven NFT project where holders can influence the storytelling of the animated series.
Early last year, Web3 animation studio Toonstar and Sixth Wall, the digital arm of Mila Kunis’ Orchard Farm Productions, launched The Gimmicks, a community-driven animated NFT series powered by Solana. The animated series allows fans to participate in character and storyline development using NFT technology. Its second season was launched on the Avalanche blockchain.
Visitors interested in StoryCo can sign up today to join the community, claim their StoryPass and access pre-release content.
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