Farmville's Architect Gains $33 Million Backing for Blockchain Game Projects
In Brief
Proof of Play, a gaming studio with roots in Epic Games, Zynga, EA, Activision, and Google, has successfully raised $33 million in seed funding.
The funding will be allocated towards the development of blockchain-based games intended for autonomous digital communities.
Proof of Play , a game development studio brought to life by experts from Epic Games , Zynga , EA , Activision, and Google has shared the news of their $33 million seed funding.
This funding round saw co-leadership from Chris Dixon of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Neil Mehta from Greenoaks, with high-profile investors like Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, and the founders of Twitch, Anchorage Digital, Mercury, Firebase, Zynga, and Alchemy joining in.
The funds will be directed toward creating blockchain-based games for self-sustaining worlds. Additionally, Emmett Shear, the former CEO and Co-founder of Twitch, has joined the board of Proof of Play.
At the helm of Proof of Play is CEO Amitt Mahajan, who co-developed FarmVille and started the NFT marketplace Rare Bits. The company highlights that its team possesses extensive expertise in both gaming and blockchain technologies.
“Having been one of the creators and chief developers of FarmVille, which was the leading Facebook game enjoyed by over 300 million players, I personally experienced the dedication and creativity players invest in games that resonate with them,” said Amitt Mahajan, Co-Founder and CEO of Proof of Play. “When the game was discontinued in 2020, it led to the loss of over a billion hours of gameplay, creativity, and investment. Acknowledging this reality motivated me to seek ways to make games enduring."
Accessible Gameplay Without NFTs
Unlike typical blockchain games that necessitate the purchase of in-game NFTs for participation, Proof of Play is committed to providing an engaging gaming experience that does not require players to have prior knowledge of blockchain technology or buy NFTs.
“Our platform is built on Arbitrum Nova, which features quick transaction times and low gas fees. This setup is ideal for our game, as it processes all game logic through on-chain transactions,” Mahajan explained to Metaverse Post. “This means all game mechanics, characters, items, and validations are embedded in smart contracts on an Ethereum-compatible blockchain. Our architecture eliminates the need for centralized servers, allowing on-chain games to operate indefinitely and be improved by the community.”
In conjunction with the funding announcement, Proof of Play introduced its inaugural free-to-play, invite-only game, Pirate Nation . According to the company, it's a social RPG where players can construct their ships, recruit crew members, fend off foes, and compete for top spots on the leaderboards.
Since its beta launch in December, the game has received weekly updates featuring card-based battles, island construction, and community-driven world boss events.
Thanks to its blockchain foundation, Pirate Nation aspires to be a game that functions without requiring creator intervention or external servers for continued operation. Additionally, players will have the power to remix the game by adding or removing elements.
“Autonomous worlds represent the natural evolution of gaming where anyone can create anything. By providing tools and a platform for crafting enduring digital universes that can be remixed, we set the stage for an explosion of creativity,” Mahajan elaborated. “Every new world created serves as a stepping stone for the next. Creators can build upon each other’s projects to quickly generate new ideas.”
In the future, Proof of Play aims to make its technology framework open-source, enabling other developers to easily create on-chain games and applications.
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