Gunzilla Games, a AAA game development studio, announces a combined $30 million of funding, consisting of a $10 million strategic token round co-led by CoinFund and Avalanche’s Blizzard Fund and with participation by Republic Capital and Morningstar Ventures, as well as previously unreported equity and validator sales.
Gunzilla Games is the developer behind Off The Grid, a cyberpunk-inspired battle royale third-person shooter game that is poised to redefine the genre. Alongside Off The Grid, Gunzilla Games has also simultaneously developed GUNZ, a blockchain-based digital economy platform built to allow Gunzilla and even other AAA game developers to empower players with full ownership of in-game items as tradable NFTs on an on-chain marketplace and mobile apps. Proceeds from these sales will be applied towards the game launch and the initial wave of post-release content for the rest of the year.
Reacting to the funding news, Vlad Korolov, CEO and Co-Founder of Gunzilla Games, said, “With the forthcoming launch of Off The Grid and GUNZ to the public, we are not just advancing towards a new horizon in AAA gaming but also establishing a new standard in the blockchain space. This evolution is supported by the invaluable backing of our funding partners, empowering us to deliver a AAA gaming experience which is set to exceed gamers’ expectations and enriches their engagement with the game universe by incorporating the decentralised community-driven in-game economy.”
Gunzilla Games launched the testnet for their blockchain-based platform for managing in-game assets, GUNZ, in April 2023. GUNZ is already live as an Avalanche Subnet customized to optimize high-speed gameplay and streamline gas payments by using its native token, offering verifiable transparency for gamers and developers alike. Other AAA game developers will be able to leverage the GUNZ SDK and white-label components, such as the built-in companion app, marketplace, and NFT minting engine to build and launch their own gaming projects on GUNZ. Gunzilla is actively speaking with third-party builders eager to build upon the ecosystem’s momentum heading into Off The Grid’s worldwide, multi-platform release.
Following the unveiling of a captivating 16-minute gameplay walkthrough trailer, featuring three of the most renowned streamers in the Battle Royale genre – Dr Disrespect, Clix, and ImperialHal – Gunzilla Games is on the cusp of releasing Off The Grid.
Set to release on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, Off The Grid is designed to transform the battle royale experience, dropping players into one of the most engaging experiences in gaming. Off the Grid also deploys the revolutionary concept of complete asset ownership and a player-driven in-game economy, all within an incredibly immersive and engaging, ever-evolving narrative projected to span 60 hours over several seasons. Under the creative guidance of Co-Founder and Chief Visionary Officer Neil Blomkamp, an Oscar-nominated director known for his work on ‘District 9,’ ‘Elysium,’ and ‘Gran Turismo,’ Off The Grid merges cinematic storytelling with immersive gameplay, setting a new standard for narrative depth in the Battle Royale genre.
The Battle Royale genre has seen massive recent growth, now counting more than 700 million players worldwide. In addition, blockchain games continue to see strong growth into 2024. Footprint Analytics reports a year-over-year increase of approximately 250% in GameFi Daily Active Addresses between March 2023 and March 2024. Meanwhile, 76.2% of respondents in the Blockchain Gaming Alliance’s 2023 State of the Industry Report saw in-game asset ownership as a way to benefit and drive blockchain gaming.
The funding round follows Gunzilla’s $46 million funding round announced in August 2022.
“We are beyond excited, not only as supporters but as players ourselves, for the public to experience the dynamic gameplay, thoughtful progression systems, compelling narrative and rich world of Gunzilla’s Off The Grid,” said Evan Feng, CoinFund Partner and Director of Research. “We believe the gap between traditional and on-chain games is rapidly closing and will invert as game developers choose to leverage the full power of blockchain technology for simply better experiences, unlocking greater audiences, retention and monetization for their titles and platforms.”
“Blizzard is thrilled to support Gunzilla Games, a trailblazing AAA studio that understands how to leverage bleeding-edge blockchain architecture to develop the next generation of great games — and great gaming platforms for other builders,” said Lydia Chiu, SVP of BD at Ava Labs and head of Blizzard. “Off the Grid fully dissolves tricky Web3 elements like complex wallets and NFT acquisition into the natural gameplay, giving everyday console gamers a blockchain gaming experience without necessarily realizing they’re having one. As much as any other game, Off the Grid is poised to cross over into the traditional gaming world, bringing the joys of Web3 gaming to the masses.”
