Proof of Play Secures $33 Million for Blockchain-based Gaming

Proof of Play, the creators of the popular Pirate Nation game, has successfully bagged $33 million in a seed funding round. The fundraising was jointly spearheaded by Andreessen Horowitz and Greenoaks Capital.

Amitt Mahajan, CEO of Proof of Play and the mind behind Zynga’s iconic game FarmVille, is at the helm of this venture. The capital raised will be instrumental in amplifying the company’s growth and fortifying its revolutionary technology that powers enduring on-chain games.

Joining the strategic movement, Emmett Shear, the (co-) mastermind behind the renowned streaming platform Twitch, now sits on Proof of Play’s board. Among the notable names who backed this funding were Naval Ravikant, AngelList’s former CEO, and Balaji Srinivasian, the previous CTO of Coinbase.

Mahajan’s motivation stems from witnessing Zynga’s decision to shut down FarmVille in 2020. He recalled, “Over a billion hours of playtime, creativity, and investment was lost.” Driven by this event, he ventured into the realm of blockchain games with the vision to make them eternal. “We’re aiming to craft products that span generations. Games that won’t just exist, but will be sustained by their passionate communities,” he elucidated.

Earlier, Pirate Nation was anchored to the Polygon network. However, it later transitioned to Arbitrum Nova to leverage cost-effective network charges. Despite its blockchain foundation, Proof of Play emphasizes that Pirate Nation allows its users the freedom to integrate and modify content, offering a constantly evolving gameplay experience.

In a recent update, Proof of Play has made Pirate Nation accessible for free, enabling players to design a character without an NFT prerequisite. Still, owning an NFT does come with its set of privileges over non-owners. This initiative aims to cater to a more diverse set of gamers.

With an eye on the future, Proof of Play intends to share its technology blueprint for creating on-chain games. This move is expected to empower budding developers to craft their own digital masterpieces.

Chris Dixon of Andreessen Horowitz expressed his support, “We’re fully behind Proof of Play’s endeavor to pave the way for a gaming ecosystem where players genuinely possess their assets and are free to construct games inspired by pre-existing ones.”