Quick take:
- WinZO has announced a $50 million fourth fund.
- The Indian social gaming startup said the fund will invest in the global gaming ecosystem.
- WinZO’s majority stake in Upskillz allowed it to integrate blockchain and web3 features into its platform.
WinZO has announced a $50 million fourth fund to invest in the global gaming ecosystem. The Indian social gaming startup said the new fund will be launched as part of its flagship Game Developer Fund, with $10 million set to be invested in US-based gaming startups.
WinZO operates as a social gaming platform in India, offering free-to-play mobile games across several genres including mid-core multiplayer casual games, action and sports (golf, tennis), among others.
However, it has also pivoted to web3 gaming through investments made in startups like Web3 gaming firm Upskillz, Web3 gaming community startup IndiGG, UK-based gaming studio Village Studio, India-based gaming studio Bombay Play, and blockchain-based creator economy and streaming startup Glip. The company targeted investment rounds in the seed and growth stages of the startups.
The fund is looking to back a diverse portfolio of projects including those involved in interactive entertainment– game developers and publishers, economies around gaming, content creation, live-ops, and security.
Commenting on the fund announcement, WinZO co-founder Paavan Nanda highlighted his company’s portfolio of over 100 multiple-genre games from over 50 developers as a key advantage that could help the startup “to identify signs, mechanics and metrics” early in advance.
“In addition, being operators ourselves, we tend to create a melting pot for our portfolio companies for them to exchange ideas, do pilots or leverage WinZO’s community and resources,” added Nanda.
WinZO is backed by some of the leading venture capital firms including US-based Griffin Gaming Partners, as well as, gaming funds like Maker’s Fund and Courtside, and India-based VC Kalaari Capital.
The company is tapping into India’s massive gaming community which according to Business Standard boasts 15 billion mobile game downloads. However, the biggest challenge facing mobile game makers has been monetisation, which WinZO looks to solve with its proprietary “micro-transaction” model.
Blockchain-based gaming ecosystems have also revolutionised the way game makers monetise their games, allowing players and creators to earn based on their activity in the community. Last year’s acquisition of Upskillz games through a majority stake gives WinZO an extra avenue that developers can use to monetise games on its platform.
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