Web3 game studio gets funding from Animoca, Samsung Next, and others

Web3 game studio Planetarium Labs has secured US$ 32 million in a Series A funding round led by game software and venture capital company Animoca Brands. Other participant investors include Samsung Next, WeMade, and Krust Universe.

Planetarium Labs is an open-source, community-driven company focused on providing entertainment via decentralised games. 

CEO Kijun Seo said the funding would be used to build the company’s network with tools for gaming and player governance.

The studio is building a gaming ecosystem on its blockchain-enabled Libplanet engine that will allow players to join the network and participate in the open-source development of content.

'Instead of multiple games sharing a single network, each game runs its application-specific blockchain network and has the freedom to design its governance and customize tokenomics, such as enabling free-to-play,' Seo said. 'Afterwards, the players and the gaming community can operate a decentralized network powering each game.'

Planetarium Labs will provide community-driven gaming and player governance tools while allowing key studios to deliver sophisticated Web3 gaming experiences. The studio believes focusing its efforts on the Libplanet engine will allow it to launch several projects. It even plans to introduce an ecosystem fund and community assistance programs to encourage involvement.

Libplanet currently powers Nine Chronicles, an open-source RPG that runs on the blockchain that Animoca Brands also supports. 

Animoca Brands has been characteristically active in the Web3 space and recently reported that its investment portfolio's value was worth over US$1.5 billion across 340 investments as of the end of April.

Planetarium Labs is one of Animoca’s latest interests, as they both share visions of empowering gamers. 

'We strongly believe that the future is massive decentralized worlds in an open metaverse, which is why we are delighted to support Planetarium Labs’ vision of community-centric blockchain games that empower players with creative freedom and full digital rights,' said Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands.

Photo: Planetarium Labs