Web3 game publisher Fenix Games raised $150 million in funding to acquire, invest and distribute blockchain games. The fund will be used to create a game publishing company specifically for mainstreaming blockchain games.
Fenix Games’ latest funding round saw participation from investors, including Phoenix Group and Dubai-based venture capital firm Cypher Capital, reported local news media Jinse. Chris Ko, CEO and co-founder of Fenix Games, who previously led Mythical Games, considers Fenix Games “like a VC fund” for fueling the next generation of blockchain games.
Sharing details into the post-funding gameplan, Ko stated:
“We’re actually going to start off with a huge base of capital to invest in those (next-generation gaming) studios. We’re also looking to use our balance sheet to acquire a bunch of existing games in the Web2 space to build a portfolio.”
Ko also highlighted that the market for blockchain gaming does not exist as it did for traditional video games such as gaming consoles and mobile gaming. Fenix Games’ strategy going forward is to develop the gaming ecosystem through publishing initiatives.
Related: Crypto gaming needs to be fun to be successful — Money doesn’t matter
GameFi’s constantly evolving model could make “today's AAA game companies look like peanuts,” said Jack O’Holleran, CEO of Skale, a multichain Ethereum-native network that powers Web3 games.
Finding a sustainable GameFi model, however, remains a challenge. User experience ranks amid the top struggles in the industry owing to high gas fees and technical complexity around buying, owning and trading nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
