Image source: Tech Crunch
Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive are deepening the NFT gaming space by joining in funding the creators of Skyweaver Horizon.
Recently, the two video game publishers announced a $40 million Series A round.
The funding
The funding round was led by Brevan Howard Digital and Morgan Creek Digital.
Besides Ubisoft and Take-Two, other backers include venture capital firm Bitkraft, Metaverse investor Everyrealm, Initialized Capital, Polygon, and payments company Xsolla.
Horizon, the Web3 startup that created Skyweaver, has also attracted individual investors with the round.
Shopify CEO Tobias Lutki and Lolli co-founder and CEO Alex Adelman were joined by The Sandbox co-founder and COO Sébastien Borget.
Aleksander Larsen, co-founder of Axie Infinity and COO of Sky Mavis, also participated in the round.
Horizon
Skyweaver is a digital collectible card game that can be compared to Blizzard’s Hearthstone.
However, Skyweaver’s cards are represented as Ethereum NFT assets that can be sold and traded like the NFT game Gods Unchained.
The title originally launched in closed alpha testing in 2018, but the open beta was released this year, allowing anyone to join and play.
In addition to publishing Skyweaver, Horizon has also used the technology to create Sequence, an Ethereum-based development platform.
Other developers can use Sequence to create their own Web3 games and applications.
Horizon recently issued a press release saying it will use the $ 40 million to push Sequence and improve and grow Skyweaver.
The startup is also launching a decentralized market called Niftyswap.
The market will focus on semi-fungible tokens, or SFTs, that can be used for games and collectibles.
Support for NFT gaming
In 2020, Horizon raised $13.3 million in seed funding led by Initialized and departed co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Ohanian has been a strong supporter of NFT games and Skyweaver for some time.
Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive
Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive are two of the most prominent video game publishers today, creating franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, NBA 2K, and Grand Theft Auto.
The two previously dived into the Web3 space.
Ubisoft has been experimenting with blockchain technology for years and stepped up efforts with Tezos-based in-game NFTs for Ghost Recon Breakpoint in December 2021.
The company has also supported and invested in other Web3 startups.
Meanwhile, Take-Two recently acquired Zynga, the mobile and casual game maker. Zynga is currently working on NFT-based games.
In early January, CEO Strauss Zelnick said opportunities for Web3 loomed.
Gamers and NFTs
Despite developer enthusiasm, gamers opposed NFTs.
Many cited scams, rampant speculation, and the environmental impact of Ethereum.
Despite the protests, developers and marketplace builders in the Web3 space believe that NFTs will eventually gain traction in the gaming industry.
Reference:
Ubisoft, Take-Two back Ethereum NFT game maker Horizon in $40M round
