Earlystage game VC Play Ventures is going blockchain
Gamevil too
As the pace of the industry so the frequency of these emails…
I’ve been bullish on blockchain gaming for three years, so I am getting pretty pumped to see the traditional gaming industry also getting excited about blockchain.
Two stories today demonstrate this.
South Korean mobile publisher Gamevil has invested $28 million into local crypto exchange Coinone.
Perhaps it’s an odd move, but labelled as “strategic investment”, I think it allows Gamevil to get a better grip of the blockchain sector through an established company.
For all the crypto activity in Asia, the sector is highly regulated, especially in South Korea and Japan.
For those who don’t know, Gamevil is best known for Summoner Wars, a $2 billion mobile game franchise by its subsidiary Com2uS.
Enter the VCs
I’m also extremely pleased to see Play Ventures has announced it will be setting up a fund specifically to invest in blockchain games.
With $175 million in assets, Play Ventures has invested in over 20 games companies to-date and recently raised $135 million, although the blockchain game fund will be a separate entity.
To my knowledge, this is the first time a traditional games VC has set up a fund for blockchain games, and it’s something I believe will really accelerate blockchain adoption in the sector, especially among developers not comfortable with IEOs, token and NFT sales.
Again Play Ventures is working with an existing company, taking a stake in Golden Gate Ventures’ LuneX Ventures. LuneX has already done a number of non-gaming blockchain investments both in terms of stock and tokens.
What was really great to read, however, was the comment from Play Ventures’ founders Henric Suuronen and Harri Manninen that they consider:
“the intersection of both gaming and blockchain will create the ultimate metaverse where people meet, play and trade; a true trillion-dollar opportunity”.
It also good to see part of the rationale is that Suuronen invested in LuneX in a personal capacity and has experienced “insane returns”.
Long may it continue.