This blockchain game studio is raising $30 million to develop games on Solana. Massive web3 adoption would come through decentralized games, especially those with low barriers to entry for players.
Faraway and Solana: $30 million for blockchain-based browser games
On November 4, 2021, Miami-based blockchain game studio Faraway announced in a release that it had raised $30 million in a Series A funding round to develop games on Solana. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and the FTX exchange. Faraway previously raised more than $8 million in capital in the company’s seed round.
Faraway will use the funds to develop and launch its flagship browser game, Mini Royale: Nations. The game will be the first live multiplayer game on Solana, according to the company. Faraway wants to remove the barriers to entry on their games, in order to encourage mass adoption. The company’s CEO, Alex Paley, believes that the browser is the right tool to achieve this goal, as browser-based games do not require specific hardware:
“We believe that the browser is the optimal platform for any blockchain game, especially in the short to medium term.”
Massive web3 adoption: 100 million users thanks to blockchain games
For Amy Wu, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, blockchain games have the potential to drive mass adoption of web3:
“Lightspeed is looking for the most promising teams in the industry to bring the next 100 million users to web3, which is expected to be in the gaming space.”
Faraway’s CEO, meanwhile, highlighted the key differences between blockchain and traditional games – the ability for players to earn, trade and hold in-game assets, and participate in the governance of the game – as he spoke about the company’s ambitions in this area:
“Our goal for current and future games is to create extremely fun and social games with open economies, giving players true ownership over their in-game assets and a real voice in how the game evolves over time.”
Solana’s ecosystem continues to attract major blockchain and crypto projects. Indeed, Solana’s success is reflected in the growth of its cryptocurrency, which recently surpassed cardano (ADA) in market capitalization.
