Neon raises $10.5m for first blockchain-enabled game

Seattle-based game studio Neon has raised $10.5m in order to build Shrapnel – the world’s first blockchain first-person shooter game.

Demonstrating significant interest in the project across the gaming, blockchain, and technology sectors, the oversubscribed Neon’s funding round was led by Griffin Gaming Partners, alongside Polychain Capital and Forte.

Commenting on the raise, Mark Long, CEO at Neon, said that the market research showed that players want to truly own their digital items. That was, Long noted, a clear sign there was a unique opportunity in the blockchain.

Spun-out from HBO Interactive, the Neon team has professional experience in transmedia, virtual production, and gaming-as-a-service.

Comprised of BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning game industry veterans hailing from some of the world’s leading game companies including Xbox, Electronic Arts, HBO, LucasFilm, Irrational, and Zombie Ent amongst others, Neon’s vision is to create the most immersive gaming experience ever seen in the crypto space.

In order to support this vision, a range of blockchain and deep tech experts promised to support the architectural and design needs of the game.

Blockchain offers competitive game modes

Pierre Planche, Partner at Griffin Gaming Partners, commented how exciting it was to see a AAA games team of this calibre contribute to moving the blockchain gaming ecosystem forward with a focus on quality gameplay and long-term value.

“Neon is authentically leveraging some of the most exciting pillars of utility that blockchain has to offer gaming – its core game design innovates on competitive game modes, and its digital economy will directly reward and empower the community,” he added.

“As a long-time FPS player and prior eSports competitor in the genre, I know Shrapnel is exactly the experience my peers and I can’t wait to get our hands on.”

Ben Perszyk, partner at Polychain, stressed the company had long held that crypto would enable novel, unforeseen behaviours, businesses, and use cases, and added Shrapnel was just another example.

“We believe crypto-assets and incentive structures will fundamentally change the way users play games, and we’re extremely excited to see the experienced team at Neon push the envelope forward on what’s possible in the crypto gaming industry by integrating crypto into a deep, immersive, AAA-style FPS experience,” he said.