Immutable, Polygon Labs, King River Team Set Up $100M Web3 Gaming Fund

Table of Contents

• IGF - Fund Overview
• Initial Funding and Key Partnerships
• Industry Potential and Timing
• Understanding Web3 Gaming

The “Inevitable Games Fund,” launched as a result of the partnership between the three companies, has a $100 million budget to invest in Web3 gaming startups. 

IGF - Fund Overview

Immutable, Polygon Labs, and King River Team have collaborated to establish a $100 million Web3 gaming fund known as the Inevitable Games Fund (IGF). The fund aims to invest in early-stage, high-growth Web3 gaming startups and contribute to the advancement of the Web3 gaming industry.

The Inevitable Games Fund is characterized as "ecosystem-agnostic," intending to support a diverse range of projects within the web3 gaming space. King River, a venture capital firm, will lead the fund's investment endeavors, deploying capital across game studios and web3 infrastructure firms. Immutable and Polygon Labs, renowned blockchain developers, will provide their expertise in deal sourcing and web3 gaming, identifying promising investment opportunities.

Initial Funding and Key Partnerships

With an initial close of $30 million, the fund has already made significant progress toward its $100 million target. Notable commitments include an anchor investment from Alpha Wave Ventures, backed by Alpha Wave Global and the Abu Dhabi Royal Group's Chimera Capital. Additionally, Merit Circle, Mike Arrington, Sandeep Nailwal of Polygon Labs, and Immutable's co-founders James and Robbie Ferguson have also committed to the fund.

The press release announcing the fund highlighted that 

"Since 2018, the sector has attracted approximately $19 billion in investments. In 2023, blockchain gaming-related rounds reached $1.7B.  A significant part of that has flowed to the 270+ blockchain games in development on Immutable," 

Industry Potential and Timing

The decision to launch the Inevitable Games Fund stems from the immense potential witnessed within the web3 gaming sector. With investments in blockchain gaming reaching $1.7 billion in 2023 and significant growth anticipated, the fund aims to capitalize on this momentum. Brendan Ma, head of investments at Immutable, highlighted the importance of the current year, stating that it marks a pivotal moment for web3 gaming. 

He pointed out, 

"Studios are now two to three years post-funding, meaning we are expected to see the culmination of years of curated development processes finally come to fruition and reach players…The IGF exists to fund the next wave of projects that will follow this one, and advance the industry forward not just in the near-term, but the long-term as well.”

Understanding Web3 Gaming

Web3 gaming involves hosting video games on blockchains, allowing players to own in-game assets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or digital property. This innovative approach has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry by providing players with true ownership and unique gaming experiences.

Zeb Rice, co-founder and managing partner at King River Capital said in a statement,

"Just as mobile gaming went from virtually zero in 2008 to 79% of gamers playing mobile today, we believe a similar shift has only just begun to web3 technology…[the fund is] designed to benefit from this multi-hundred billion dollar shift in spending to this disruptive new technology."

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.