The Forte platform has just raised $725 million to continue developing blockchain-based video games. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Solana Ventures and Warner Music Group participated in the fundraising.
Crypto gaming startup Forte raises $725M
Forte, a U.S. startup that provides blockchain solutions to game publishers, has raised $725 million in a Series B funding round. Sea Capital and Kora Management co-led the round, with participation from several leading venture capital firms and investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Tiger Global, Solana Ventures, Polygon Studios, Cosmos, Animoca Brands and Warner Music Group.
With this new funding, Forte plans to expand its services and welcome more game publishers. Currently, the platform is invitation-only and claims more than 40 game development partners. According to Forte, the vision is to move beyond the current gaming paradigm:
“With blockchain-based games, players around the world can freely exchange goods and services with each other, and participate in community economies that reward creativity, collaboration and skill.”
Developers use the Forte platform to integrate blockchain technology into their games, making it easy to incorporate features such as the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and access to cryptocurrency payment solutions.
Note that Forte does not operate its own blockchain and uses existing solutions such as Ethereum (ETH), Cosmos (ATOM), Solana (SOL) and the Polygon sidechain (MATIC).
An underlying trend
In early November, Solana Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and the FTX exchange announced the launch of a $100 million fund for the GameFi ecosystem. The funds will be used to finance game studios, technology companies and other projects “at the intersection of blockchain and gaming.” Amy Wu, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, explained:
“Crypto gaming is a great opportunity to bring the next billion users to Web 3.0. We are excited to partner with FTX and Solana Ventures to play a leading role in the growth of this ecosystem.”
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are increasingly merging with the gaming industry, creating new user experiences and new forms of monetization.
