Revolving Games raises $13.2 million to make blockchain game with former Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser as advisor

Revolving Games has raised $13.2 million in additional capital to create triple-A blockchain games. The team is led by three Pakistani game veterans (and brothers) Saad, Ammar and Shayan Zaeem; and its advisors include Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games.

All told, the company has raised $25 million over the past 2.5 years. The money came from Pantera Capital, Animoca Brands, Polygon, Houser, Dapper Labs, Permanens Capital Partners, Kenetic, Sarmayacar and DWeb3 Capital.

It’s yet another sign of a tug-of-war among game developers and how the industry is tilting toward the shiny new: using blockchain technology to authenticate unique digital objects, establish player ownership, and enable players to monetize decentralized games. Of course, some hardcore gamers might be horrified to learn that Houser, one of the creators of blockbusters like Grand Theft Auto V, is backing a blockchain gaming company. But Houser is among a sea of ​​veterans walking the same path.

Saad Zaeem met Houser a few years ago and they started exploring ideas together. But they ended up doing different types of work. So Houser became a counselor instead.

“Dan is a legend in the industry,” said Saad Zaeem.

The brothers said they started to get FOMO around Web3, especially after Apple changed its privacy policy and torpedoed a lot of targeted advertising for mobile games.

“We were founded in the Web2 era,” Saad Zaeem, co-CEO of Revolving Games, said in an interview with GamesBeat. “We were a mobile game company working on 2K. But we saw that Web3 was where we needed to go, and so we made a pivot late last year.”

Revolving Games will use the capital over the next two years to develop scalable and fully decentralized gaming experiences for both globally recognized franchisees and its own original intellectual properties. The company has already created publishing tools and other technology to enable Web3 games to launch faster and more efficiently.

“We love the work we’re seeing from Revolving Games and are proud to help them achieve their goals,” Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more passionate about building a true Web3 ecosystem of exciting, unique gaming experiences, and we see that reflected in the work being done here. We are confident that Revolving Games has a bright future.”

The Zaeem brothers have been working in gaming for decades, and they saw the irresistible opportunity to pivot into blockchain gaming.

Revolving Games was launched in 2020 first as a mobile free games company. It now consists of two studios and a team of 105 working on blockchain games across North America, Europe and Asia. The first game, previously revealed at Galaverse in June 2022, is a Battlestar Galactica-themed Blockchain game in collaboration with Gala Games and NBCUniversal.

The team has a significant group of around 60 people in Pakistan.

“One of the advantages we have is a global team that helps us offload some of the costs and be a more efficient organization,” said Saad Zaeem. “Ammar and I have run companies for over 15 years, from an operational point of view. We are in a very good place.”

The Battlestar Galactica themed blockchain game will be a 4X Strategy massively multiplayer online game. Further details will be announced in the fourth quarter. The game has been in production for about eight months already.

Skyborne Legacy

The second game, Skyborne Legacy, is a social exploration and trading RPG that will be distributed on the Polygon network. The company will self-publish the title.

Skyborne Legacy is a cooperative adventure RPG inspired by Nintendo classics such as Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda, Ammar Zaeem said in an interview.

“You can think of it as a mix of Zelda and Animal Crossing, more like Adventure of Zelda, and then the self-expression of Animal Crossing, but also with this social MMORPG system baked around it with guild player housing, cleric cities, creating raids,” Ammar said Zaeem. “This whole concept of Web3 is playing really well. We do not believe that you can retrofit anything [from Web3] into Web2.”

The team consists of experienced game designers who have worked on blockbusters such as Star Trek Timelines, Warhammer, Kim Kardashian Hollywood, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Shop Heroes, Zooba, Castle Age and many others.

“Our vision is clear: to build triple-A quality games that stand head and shoulders above the best launches at the best gaming forums like Gamescom and E3,” said Saad Zaeem. “As the world moves from a developer-owned ecosystem to a player-owned ecosystem, Revolving Games will be at the forefront of this evolution as they continue to release titles that rival the best in the traditional video game industry. We are building the future of games and gaming.”

The game will be officially announced on October 4th, with gameplay teasers, roadmap, whitepaper and details to be revealed during the live game demo and first AMA. The company will use Polygon’s blockchain technology to create the game.

“Web3 gaming is one of the most innovative and rapidly developing sectors of the crypto industry, and we are proud to be at the forefront of this digital revolution,” Paul Veradittakit, general partner at Pantera Capital, said in a statement. “Since 2013, we have been looking for new thematic ideas and innovative projects that disrupt traditional thinking and become integral parts of the global blockchain ecosystem; Revolving Games undoubtedly meets these criteria.”

Urvit Goel, head of global games business development at Polygon, said in a statement: “We are thrilled to be a part of this funding round. Revolving Games’ mission to create engaging and lasting Web3 experiences resonates well with Polygon’s own gaming DNA. In line with our mission to enable players to truly own their assets and data, we are excited about this opportunity to support the studio’s long-term vision and goals and help take another step towards a more inclusive and diverse future.”

First and foremost, Revolving Games wants to build fun and lasting games, and has surrounded itself with strategic investors who will advise on everything from game development to marketing and brand partnerships to create truly immersive experiences.

“It’s incredibly encouraging to see that our vision is resonating so well with some of the biggest players in the web3 space,” said Ammar Zaeem. “Thanks to this support and funding, we will be able to strengthen our technology and create a more scalable and fully decentralized gaming-focused future.”

The team is comprised of industry veterans who have built multiple critical and commercially successful social games that have collectively generated over $2.6 billion in lifetime revenue.

“These are strategic investors that will take us to where we want to go as far as our gaming journey goes,” said Saad Zaeem.

“Our goal is to rethink how games should be built for Web3,” said Saad Zaeem. “We really want to be one of those companies that defines what it really means to be in this era, and what player ownership means.”

“It’s less about me putting in so much money and taking out so much, because it’s like a finite item. That’s what we’re not that interested in. It’s something that we’re not focused on at all. Our goal is really to provide great gameplay with ownership.”

It’s like having a game where you maxed out five generals and would like to sell them to someone who doesn’t have them, Saad Zaeem said.

As for the crypto winter and the NFT downturn now, Saad Zaeem said that the team finished the round in the spring and therefore has been able to raise a war chest that will help them get through tougher times. By the time the company ships its game, the economic environment will likely be different.

As for the blockchain-hating hardcore gamers, Saad Zaeem said: “It’s a question that everyone asks. They get very upset about it. Some developers say we’re going to stop. We encountered none of that. And the reason is that we would like to communicate one-on-one about what it means to be a blockchain gaming company and to society at large.”

He said that the idea of ​​having a fun game and making money in a game don’t have to be separate paths.

“Of the games that have come out in the last year or more, I don’t think any blockchain game is on par with what you saw with Clash of Clans, or what you saw with Game of War. If you remember, free to play also used to get a very bad rap. A lot of haters in 2008 would say that free-to-play is never going to work. But it’s really evolved, hasn’t it?”

He compared the ability to sell blockchain items in a game to selling a used game back to GameStop so you can buy another game. The company also plans to make onboarding to cryptocurrency wallets and other technology easier for players.