Enterprise capital agency Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has launched a $600 million fund devoted to gaming startups with a deal with Web3, saying it believes “Video games infrastructure and applied sciences will probably be key constructing blocks of the Metaverse.”
Dubbed Video games Fund One, the fund will put money into three principal areas: sport studios, shopper purposes — which assist participant communities, with Discord used for instance — and gaming infrastructure suppliers.
The a16z workforce stated “The approaching Metaverse will probably be constructed by video games corporations, utilizing video games applied sciences” and that the trade has already “solved most of the issues that should be solved to create the Metaverse.” It believes video games will grow to be the “dominant manner individuals spend time.”
The transfer by a16z marks practically $3 billion dedicated by enterprise funds and gaming trade giants into Web3 gaming or metaverse initiatives since mid-April. Enterprise agency White Star Capital raised $120 million for its decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming-focused fund, together with a $200 million allocation to blockchain gaming initiatives by Framework Ventures, each going down in April 2022.
Metaverse initiatives are additionally gaining huge sums from gaming trade titans. Final month, Epic Video games, creator of the favored Fortnite title, raised $2 billion to create a metaverse with funding from Sony and Lego
The workforce at a16z pointed to the billions of {dollars} in income that video games resembling Minecraft generate, utilizing the open-world sport for instance of a title that has retained a long-term energetic group that capabilities extra like a social community. Minecraft is the present all-time highest-selling sport and has seen 173 million common month-to-month gamers over the previous 30 days, in response to figures from sport statistics platform ActivePlayer, regardless of it being launched nearly 11 years in the past.
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The fund is the primary by a16z solely devoted to video games, however the agency has backed profitable game-related initiatives previously, together with digital actuality firm Oculus and sport developer Zynga, saying the investments “cemented our perception that video games require a specialised focus.”
Becoming a member of the fund are founders of sport growth corporations and widespread video games resembling Marc Merrill, co-founder of Riot Video games; Aleks Larsen and Jeffrey Zirlin, co-founders of Sky Mavis, which owns the favored Axie Infinity blockchain sport; and Kevin Lin, founding father of gaming firm Metatheory, which acquired $24 million in a funding spherical led by a16z.
