Autoverse Studios has raised $8 million to develop Auto Legends, a new social drag racing Web3 game. The funding round was led by White Star Capital, with participation from RockawayX, Sfermion, Sidedoor Ventures, Ocular, Saison Capital, and others.
The free-to-play game will let players race for status and prize money, host tournaments, own teams, run car dealerships, perform maintenance, participate in high-stakes “pink slip” races, and more. It’s currently available on mobile and desktop in a closed alpha testing at the Auto Legends’ website.
Autoverse Studios is run by Justin Choi, the former founder of Cie Games (Racing Rivals, Car Town) as well as Peter Pham (CEO) and Dinko Tontchev (Head of Product and Tech) — a team that has decades of experience developing racing games. According to the report, the new funds will be used to complete the game and bring Web3 mechanics to the larger audience of traditional free-to-play games.
Pham said the aim of Autoverse is to transform the game industry with “new social gameplay mechanics, creator support, and enabling players to own and trade their in-game assets.” He added that players “love creating their own parts” and “hosting tournaments,” and that the Web3 tech in Auto Legends will enable them to do these things.
Unlike most racing games, players in Auto Legends are incentivized by more than just winning races or having the best record. As players progress, they can upgrade their cars and add new vehicles to their collections, as well as unlock better garages, performances shops, new environments, and other gameplay elements. The mission is to become ‘Legendary’ by earning a reputation and becoming popular within the game.
Web3 Games Continue to Innovate in the Space
While the PFP NFT market has been in a slump, that isn’t stopping Web3 platforms from innovating with non-fungible token technology. Perhaps one of the most bullish spaces for Web3 tech these days lies in gaming. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several articles about Web3 gaming making strides in recent months.
Here’s a review of some of the most recent headlines:
- Ubisoft Teams with Arbitrum for Captain Laserhawk Game
- Manchester United Unveils NFT Trading Card Fantasy Game on Tezos
- Atari Debuts Asteroids Arcade Game on Base
- Eden Games to Open ‘Cosmic Royale’ Beta Mode on July 24
- Ubisoft Doubles Down on Web3 with Champions Tactics Game
- Prize Pool for Pixelmon’s New Game ‘PixelPals’ Hits $193K
- ‘Fight League’ Games Move Into Web3 via the Ronin Blockchain
- Sega to Debut New Web3 Games in Finschia Ecosystem
It may take some time before a Web3 game reaches the heights of Fortnite or World of Warcraft, but there are certainly plenty of studios and players working to make that happen. We’ll have to be patient to see if Auto Legends is popular with gamers. But considering the studio’s experienced team, clear-cut mission, and its latest successful funding round, we think there’s a good chance it will be.
To learn more about Web3 gaming, check out our recent interview with Bay Backner from Decentraland.