Seattle-based gaming company Neon Machine, known for their upcoming first-person shooter game Shrapnel, successfully raised $20 million in Series A funding, as officially disclosed by the organization.
Polychain Capital spearheaded this funding endeavor, joined by prominent supporters such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Brevan Howard Digital, Franklin Templeton, IOSG Ventures, and Tess Ventures. This substantial investment will support the continued development of Shrapnel, a Web3 extraction shooter that revolves around the innovative use of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Avalanche blockchain.
About Shrapnel
Shrapnel is a sci-fi extraction shooter game that introduces a pioneering concept in the world of gaming. A significant portion of in-game content, including weapon parts, weapons, and cosmetics, will be offered as NFTs on Shrapnel’s dedicated subnet on the Avalanche blockchain, a private crypto network. To enhance the player experience, Shrapnel initiated its own ERC-20 token called SHRAP on the Avalanche network back in April. This approach fundamentally shifts the ownership dynamics of in-game assets.
Shrapnel’s unique selling point is its use of NFTs. Shrapnel will offer a significant portion of its in-game content as NFTs on its own subnet on the Avalanche blockchain, including weapon parts, weapons, and cosmetics. Accordingly, users will actually own the items they acquire in-game, which they can exchange for other users’ goods or even sell for actual money.
Neon Machine is also committed to empowering players to create their own in-game content. The game will feature a robust user-generated content (UGC) system that allows players to design their own weapons, cosmetics, and even entire missions. Players can then turn their designs into NFTs and sell them to other players on the Shrapnel marketplace.
Shrapnel’s Future Development
CEO Mark Long of Neon Machine expressed the studio’s aspiration to redefine traditional game development. This ambitious vision aims to create a game where players not only enjoy the gameplay but also have a real stake in its evolution. A beta version of the game is slated for release in December, with a full launch scheduled for 2024. The Shrapnel team, consisting of over 70 dedicated individuals, is harnessing blockchain technology to push the boundaries of player experience and ownership.
About Neon Machine
Neon Machine was once a division of HBO Interactive, but it split off in 2021 to become its own company. With an initial investment of $10.5 million, the company launched a PFP NFT collection and published comic books. Since then, Neon Machine has raised a total of $37.5 million, most recently in a $20 million Series A round.
Neon Machine’s Shrapnel has a unique approach to NFTs and player ownership. The $20 million Series A funding, led by Polychain Capital, reflects the strong belief in the project’s potential. It will be fascinating to watch how this game evolves and innovates gaming in the future.
For more information on Shrapnel, you can visit their website and follow them on Twitter for the latest announcements.