Proof of Play, a game studio and technology company founded by Epic Games, Zynga, EA, Activision, and Google veterans, has successfully raised $33 million in a seed round. The investment round was co-led by Chris Dixon at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Neil Mehta at Greenoaks, with participation from notable figures in the tech and game industry, including Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, the founders of Twitch, Anchorage Digital, Mercury, Firebase, Zynga, and Alchemy. This funding marks a significant step forward for Proof of Play as it seeks to develop fully on-chain games for autonomous worlds.
One of the key announcements accompanying this funding success is the invite-only Free-to-Play launch of their inaugural title, Pirate Nation, a pirate-themed role-playing game (RPG) built entirely on the blockchain. The game has been designed to offer a unique game experience without the complexities often associated with blockchain technology, such as the need to purchase expensive NFTs. Pirate Nation has been in beta since December and has received regular updates, introducing features like card-based combat, island building, and community-led world boss raids.
Emmett Shear, former CEO and Co-founder of Twitch has joined Proof of Play as a board member, adding to the company’s gaming and blockchain technology expertise. Pirate Nation, Proof of Play’s inaugural offering, allows players to construct their ships, recruit crews, engage in battles against various adversaries, and compete for top positions on leaderboards. Pirate Nation operates entirely on blockchain infrastructure, emphasizing decentralization and autonomy, ensuring the game’s sustainability without needing continuous creator intervention or external servers.
To empower players further, Proof of Play has given them the unprecedented ability to modify the game by adding or removing content, allowing active participation in the game’s evolution. Proof of Play adheres to open platforms and decentralization principles, with plans to open-source its technology framework to enable other developers to create on-chain games and applications easily. With this substantial investment and their commitment to advancing blockchain gaming, Proof of Play is poised to make significant strides in fully on-chain games for autonomous worlds.
NEXT: Mobidictum Monthly Games Industry Report August 2023 is released
