Animoca, Coinbase Ventures Back $5M Seed Round for Metaverse Gaming Studio Block Tackle

The studio’s first release will be SkateX, where players can buy their own skateboard NFTs and vote on decisions about the game.

AccessTimeIconMar 22, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 7:13 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Metaverse gaming studio Block Tackle has raised $5 million in seed funding to create games that leverage blockchain technology and allow players to own non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The funding round was led by Play Ventures, an early stage gaming venture capital firm, and Cadenza Ventures. Seed investors included Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands along with Coinbase Ventures and Solana Ventures.

Members of the San-Francisco-based Block Tackle team – including co-founders Rob Oshima and Ben Topkins – have helped to create well-known games such as “Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth,” “Fast & Furious: Legacy,” “Marvel Strike Force” and “Avatar: Pandora Rising.”

“What we heard when we started talking to investors was ‘the space is hungry for folks like you,’” Ben Topkins, co-founder of Block Tackle, told CoinDesk. Topkins explained that investors were looking for experienced game developers who could successfully build out Web 3 games.

The Studio’s first release will be SkateX, in which players can buy their own skateboard NFTs and doing so means players will be able to vote on gaming decisions, Topkins said.

SkateX will debut in April after the drop of a collection of 3D-animated skateboard NFTs, the company said.

Players will also be able to make money from reselling their boards, which might change in value based on demand and what level they have reached, Topkins said.

Money has been pouring into the metaverse space recently. Metaverse darling The Sandbox closed a $93 million series B funding round led by SoftBank in November last year, while KuCoin Labs, the investment and research firm of crypto exchange KuCoin, launched a $100 million fund to invest in metaverse projects in November.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. She previously worked as an intern for Business Insider and Bloomberg News. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.