Australian venture capital investor King River Capital and video games maker Immutable have launched the $100-million Inevitable Games Fund, an ecosystem-agnostic vehicle that seeks to invest in web3 games.
King River Capital will lead the investment process for the new fund, while Immutable and software platform Polygon Labs will provide key sourcing and web3 gaming expertise.
The privately offered fund has secured an anchor commitment from Alpha Wave Ventures, a global venture investor backed by Alpha Wave Global, and Abu Dhabi Royal Group’s Chimera Capital.
Other notable commitments come from Merit Circle, a web3 gaming leader, and several family offices including those of Mike Arrington, Steve Kokinos, and the Co-Founders of Immutable and Polygon Labs.
The fund aims to invest across premier game studios, web3 infrastructure, and immersive gaming experiences.
So far, the fund has already made early-stage investments into Pixelmon, a Singapore-headquartered decentralised web3 gaming IP; Metalcore, an open-world combined arms game; Guild of Guardians, an Immutable platform game; and My Pet Hooligan, a Hollywood-style animation meets team deathmatch gameplay.
Pixelmon secured $8 million in its seed funding round, which was also backed by Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands and several other investors.
The launch of the Inevitable Games Fund comes as the global gaming revenue is estimated to reach $312 billion by 2025 from $227 billion in 2023, according to a PwC report.
Crypto market intelligence provider Messari earlier estimated the combined market share of Immutable and Polygon to be about 70% of the total blockchain gaming development.
“Spending on video games exceeds the global revenue from movies, streaming TV, and the music industry, combined, and it is ripe for a huge technology shift,” said Zeb Rice, co-founder and managing partner at King River Capital.
King River Capital invests in early to mid-stage high-growth technology businesses. Since its founding in 2019, the firm has raised four funds and invested in 32 companies across North America and Australia.
Web3 venture investing has started picking up after a significant drop in 2022. In February, Startale Labs, a Singapore-based tech company that focuses on Web3 infrastructure, raised $3.5 million in fresh funding from existing investors, according to regulatory filings.
In August last year, ZTX, a Singapore-based Web3 virtual world and creator platform, announced raising $13 million in its seed funding round anchored by Jump Crypto, the cryptocurrency arm of proprietary trading firm Jump Trading.
