The metaverse and NFT gaming sectors have shown signs of flourishment in recent years. In a bid to accelerate research and development in this consumer-centric industry, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has pledged a fund of $600 million (roughly Rs. 4,661 crore). The name of this fund pool is ‘Games Fund One’ and it will focus on uplifting game studios, gaming infrastructures providers, as well as consumer applications. With this, the capital committed by venture funds in the Web3 gaming industry has reportedly touched the mark of a whopping $3 billion (roughly Rs. 23,310 crore).
This is the inaugural investment by a16z in Web3 gaming and aims to be an active part in the “new era” that the gaming industry has stepped into.
By funding this sector, the investment firm is tapping into the potential it sees in the overall metaverse sector.
“We believe games infrastructure and technologies will be key building blocks of the metaverse, an opportunity that dwarfs the current $300 billion (roughly Rs. 23,30,958 crore) game industry itself,” the US-based company founded in 2009 wrote in a blog-post.
The fund will be distributed among developers working to enhance the interactive experience in metaverse and blockchain games.
Developers working on integrating metaverse gaming elements with consumer apps like Twitch or Discord are eligible to be chosen to get a chunk of a16z’s fund.
“The rapid growth in the number of gamers worldwide has created a thriving ecosystem of consumer apps to support them. As games become the dominant way people spend time, we believe some of the most innovative consumer companies will be built around player communities,” the post added.
Recognising the need for stacking up on tools and virtual resolution services for game creators is also that the venture capital firm is looking to invest in.
“Not only is this infrastructure important for games in its own right, we also believe that the coming metaverse will be built by games companies, using games technologies. From content creation to multiplayer enablement to virtual economy management and live ops, the games industry has already solved many of the problems that need to be solved to create the metaverse,” a16z noted.
In its recent ‘State of Crypto’ report, a16z had acknowledged that the route for growth for the crypto sector is tough. Despite the coming turbulent days, the firm has been opening floodgates of investments in the crypto and blockchain-based sectors.
Despite the current slowdown of the crypto economy, Andreessen Horowitz recently announced its plans of investing $500 million (roughly Rs. 3,825 crore) in India’s growing startup ecosystem.
In March, Yuga Labs, the creator of the most popular non-fungible token (NFT) project in existence, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), claimed to have raised $450 million (roughly Rs. 3,430 crore) in a seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
