ZEBEDEE raises $ 35 million for Bitcoin games – Bitcoin Magazine
- ZEBEDEE secured a $ 35 million investment to scale operations to meet growing demand.
- The bitcoin-only game developer has witnessed a 10-fold increase in the user base since September last year.
- Major investors included Square Enix, the AAA game studio behind several global video game IPs such as FINal Fantasy and Tomb Raider.
ZEBEDEE, a bitcoin-only game developer, has secured $ 35 million in a Series B fundraising event to scale circular economies in virtual worlds, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine.
The funding will be used to scale ZEBEDEE’s team so that they can meet the needs of the growing user base, which has witnessed a 10-fold increase since the start-up’s first funding round last September. The rapid growth, as the company explains, has been in part due to innovative partnerships with existing game studios and integrations with blockchain industry experts.
“We are excited to be in a position where we can safely scale our team and expand our business even as the macroeconomic backdrop becomes increasingly uncertain,” said Simon Cowell, CEO of ZEBEDEE. “This round of funding gives us the opportunity to meet our very ambitious roadmap both in terms of expanding our infrastructure to support the hundreds of millions of users who play our partners’ games, as well as hiring the top-level talent needed to ensure that every partner has best possible experience working with ZEBEDEE. “
ZEBEDEE creates a circular economy that allows users to earn bitcoin across multiple video games by leveraging the Lightning Network, a two-tier application built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain that allows users to access instant, affordable micropayments in bitcoin.
ZEBEDEE offers a suite of application programming interface (API) suites, as well as applications for developers that can allow any game developer to create a virtual bitcoin economy. Examples of a virtual economy would be to earn bitcoin every time you collect a coin like Mario, or every time you shoot someone in a CS: GO match.
“We’ve seen new ways of generating revenue disrupt the gaming industry in the past, and we believe the integration of Bitcoin directly into games is a new way to expand the connection with players and engage them in ways that were never possible before,” said Kenny Lee, VP of Raine Group . “The wide range of uses for ZEBEDEE’s platform provides flexibility for the game designer and allows ZEBEDEE to collaborate with any developer, from AAA console and PC to hyper-informal mobiles.”
Major investors included Square Enix Holdings, Kingsway Capital and The Raine Group.
