Blockchain-based play-to-earn games that leverage NFTs have exploded in popularity in 2021. Riding the wave of the sector’s demand surge, the trio – Solana Ventures, Forte, and Griffin Gaming Partners – announced a $150 million fund to incubate blockchain games startups.
Blockchain Gaming, the Next Big Thing?
Solana Ventures has partnered with Forte and Griffin Games Partners (GGP) to collectively establish a $150 million. The main objective behind the alliance is to help the budding NFT and play-to-earn games build on the Solana blockchain by investing in Web 3 game makers.
Matthew Beck, a partner at Solana Ventures, commented,
“The ecosystem is still defining what the intersection of blockchain and gaming looks like. And I’m delighted to partner with Forte and Griffin Gaming Partners to help support this new generation of game designers and builders.”
For the uninitiated, Solana Ventures is the strategic investment arm of Solana Labs. On the other hand, Griffin Gaming Partners is a VC firm that invests in games. The San Francisco-headquartered Forte offers the infrastructure and regulatory compliance for firms that seek to enter the blockchain gaming sector.
The announcement comes at a time when blockchain games and the concepts of the metaverse and virtual worlds are slowly seeping into everyday conversations. Blockchain tech allows game publishers to engage with their player bases in ways that were not comprehensible before.
According to Forte CEO Josh Williams, game developers can now offer players real property rights and build self-sustaining and thriving economies within their games, thanks to the advent of NFTs and other related avenues.
Solana’s Appeal
This is Solana Ventures’ second rodeo in the blockchain gaming space. The investment firm tagged Lightspeed Venture Partners and FTX to launch a $100 million fund to invest in startups dedicated to the development of blockchain gaming studios in November this year.
The move to empower the games being built on the Solana blockchain was premised on the network’s high speed and low cost of transactions. Pierre Planche, a partner at Griffin Gaming Partners, also echoed a similar sentiment and cited Solana as a “premier example” of crucial technical developments that helped gaming and interactive media become a cornerstone of blockchain today.
