MetaKing Studios raises $15M for blockchain MMO Blocklords

MetaKing Studios has raised $15 million in seed-stage funding to make the blockchain-based massively multiplayer online game Blocklords.

Makers Fund and Bitkraft Ventures led the round, with investment from Delphi Digital, Animoca Brands, Shima Capital, WW Ventures, Spartan Group, Huobi Ventures, and others. MetaKing Studios will use the financing to accelerate development on its flagship strategy game which is launching in early access this year.

Founded by David Johansson and Nicky Li, game industry executives with decades of expertise in making free-to-play and games, the MetaKing Studio team includes more than 100 artists, designers and developers from studios including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Paradox Interactive and Creative Assembly.

“At heart, we’re a team of gamers and tech enthusiasts who want to create fun, enjoyable experiences using the nascent technologies available to us,” said David Johansson, CEO of MetaKing Studios, in a statement. “In Blocklords, we have been working to build a massive, dynamic game world that is directly shaped by players’ choices, whether they choose to be humble Farmers or powerful Lords and Ladies. By giving players full ownership of their digital assets, not only are we incentivizing the way they play games, we’re empowering them to have fun in the process.”

Blocklords is a medieval strategy MMO that weaves world-building with real-time battles, deep historical fantasy lore, and a detailed lineage system. It is built upon a player-driven narrative.

“MMOs have a clear product-market fit within blockchain games as they allow for more diverse and dynamic in-game economies,” commented Jamie Wallace, an associate at Bitkraft, in a statement. “When it comes to Blocklords, it not only has deeper gameplay than current blockchain-based games on the market but it’s also designed to attract a wide range of player types, ultimately creating a more inclusive game that caters to all stakeholders within the Web3 universe. I’m looking forward to seeing this incredibly talented team merge their experience building blockchain gaming infrastructure with their game design experience to create an innovative Web3 strategy game.”

MetaKing Studios has already built a player following for Blocklords, with more than 10,000 active community users that have been eagerly creating content and designs alongside the MetaKing Studios development team in anticipation of the game soon to be revealed.

“MetaKing Studios is at the forefront of building an engaging, fun, immersive MMO real-time strategy game that uses blockchain technology to improve players’ experience with innovative game design,” said Andrew Willson, principal at the Makers Fund, in a statement. “David, Nicky, and the team have invaluable experience developing multiplayer game platforms around Web3 economies and are thrilled to support them in building a deep medieval strategy experience that I cannot wait to play.”

Blocklords incorporates a player-driven economy that will quickly scale as more players join the massive online world. As part of this experience, players will be able to own their hero characters, and, through the game’s Dynasty system, continue their bloodline through heirs, populating the world and creating their own unique lineage and legacy.