Arbitrum’s 200 million ARB Gaming Catalyst Program, now rebranded to Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, has introduced its first $10 million cohort of investments and grants.
Backed by VCs together with Paradigm, Framework, and Bitkraft, Arbitrum Gaming Ventures was accepted in June 2024, with the purpose of boosting sport tasks constructed on Arbitrum.
Coming beneath scrutiny in 2024, with calls to fully shut it down in 2025, the initiative has now revealed the primary 5 tasks receiving investments, spanning throughout improvement, publishing platforms, and sport infrastructure.
Notably, the chosen tasks don’t embody any smaller startups, however relatively established video games and platforms.
“Arbitrum Gaming Ventures is backing proven founders who aren’t just making games – they’re helping create an even more vibrant Arbitrum ecosystem,” mentioned Arbitrum Gaming Ventures associate Rick Johanson.
As for the 5 tasks, one is the considerably stunning sport Wildcard from Paul Bettner’s Playful Studios. Described as a web2 card gathering MOBA that can launch by way of Steam and different conventional sport platforms, its inaugural NFTs had been minted on Ethereum.
“When we looked toward the future, Arbitrum stood out as the best platform for our game(s). Aside from the obvious technical advantages, we’re excited to have support from Arbitrum Gaming Ventures as we bring Wildcard – and our other projects – to Arbitrum,” commented Playful’s Katy Drake Bettner.
For now, all that’s been introduced about these different tasks is Playful’s native web3 streaming platform 1000’s. Bringing this and its related tasks together with the WC token to Arbitrum is an enormous deal for the community.
The remaining 4 corporations gaining funding had been:
- Proof of Play – the developer of Pirate Nation and gaming infrastructure together with Apex and Boss Chain.
- Xai community – an L3 blockchain optimized for indie gaming.
- Hyve Labs – a web3 sport ecosystem distributing video games throughout X, Telegram, Farcaster, internet browsers, and extra.
- T-Rex – a shopper app blockchain chosen based mostly on the staff’s Southeast Asia location, as a part of Arbitrum’s broader technique to broaden in international high-growth markets.
“This first cohort reflects our commitment to supporting high-quality experiences that are built for the long term – products that attract players, retain them, and expand meaningful engagement across Arbitrum,” added Johansson.
