PlayStation crypto game dev Gunzilla Games raises $30 million in round led by Avalanche fund and CoinFund

Gunzilla Games, the developer behind the upcoming video game "Off the Grid," has raised $30 million in a round co-led by CoinFund and Avalanche's Blizzard Fund, according to a statement.

"Off the Grid," which is a free-to-play, battle royale video game, is slated for release on both the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox, in addition to PC. The new third-person shooter video game "deploys the revolutionary concept of complete asset ownership and a player-driven in-game economy," according to Gunzilla Games.

In its statement, Gunzilla Games also said its "combined $30 million" raise includes a "$10 million strategic token round," participation from Republic Capital and Morningstar Ventures, and "previously unreported equity and validator sales." Gunzilla Games's new raise follows a $46 million funding round from August 2022.

The arena of blockchain-based shooter style video games appears to be maturing with "Off the Grid" set to compete against other titles like Studio 369's "MetalCore" and the extraction shooter "Shrapnel." Up until now, most crypto video games, where players can own and trade digital assets, have been fairly limited in scope and complexity. 

"With the forthcoming launch of 'Off the Grid' and GUNZ to the public, we are not just advancing towards a new horizon in AAA gaming but also establishing a new standard in the blockchain space," Gunzilla Games co-founder and CEO Vlad Korolov said in the statement.

He added that "Off the Grid" will "deliver a AAA gaming experience" that exceeds "gamers’ expectations and enriches their engagement with the game universe by incorporating the decentralized community driven in-game economy."

CoinFund partner and Director of Research Evan Feng said in the statement that he believes "the gap between traditional and on-chain games is rapidly closing and will invert as game developers choose to leverage the full power of blockchain technology."

Platform for trading in-game assets

Gunzilla Games said GUNZ is a blockchain-powered platform which will "allow Gunzilla and even other AAA game developers to empower players with full ownership of in-game items as tradable NFTs on an on-chain marketplace and mobile apps." The GUNZ testnet launched last April, according to the company.

"'Off the Grid' fully dissolves tricky web3 elements like complex wallets and NFT acquisition into the natural gameplay, giving everyday console gamers a blockchain gaming experience without necessarily realizing they’re having one," said Lydia Chiu, an executive at Ava Labs and head of Blizzard Fund.

Last year, Gunzilla Games posted a "gameplay walkthrough trailer" of the upcoming game on YouTube. The video, viewed more than 400,000 times, features top gamers like Dr Disrespect, Clix, and ImperialHal.