Turning the Tide: Pixelmon Secures $8M Investment for Web3 Gaming Revival

Pixelmon, a decentralized web3 gaming IP company, has secured a seed investment of US$8 million from various investors, including Animoca Brands, Delphi Ventures, Amber Group, and Bing Ventures. Other participants in the funding round include Bitscale Capital, Cypher Capital, Foresight Ventures, Mechanism Capital, Sfermion, Spartan Labs, and VistaLabs.

Following a challenging period of criticism, Pixelmon has been striving to reverse its fortunes. With this latest infusion of capital, the company aims to accelerate its development efforts for upcoming games.

Despite experiencing initial excitement due to its open-world concept and Pokemon-inspired gameplay, Pixelmon faced significant backlash following its poorly executed NFT artwork reveal in February 2022, which resulted in a loss of community trust and value. In response to the negative reception, VC firm LiquidX acquired a majority stake in Pixelmon in September 2022, with LiquidX co-founder Giulio Xiloyannis assuming the CEO role.

With the recent infusion of $8 million in seed investment, Pixelmon now plans to redeem itself in the gaming sphere. The funding will primarily be allocated towards the continued development of Pixelmon’s diverse portfolio, comprising both casual and mid-core games. Utilizing its proprietary IP fractionalization system, Mon Protocol, Pixelmon aims to enhance ownership of intellectual property and in-game assets. 

Following the launch of Kevin the Adventurer (KTA) in October 2023, Pixelmon introduced its first hypercasual game, which attracted 36,000 active players and over 10,000 hours of gameplay within the first month. Developed by LiquidX Studios, KTA features the adorable and adventurous pixelmon character, Kevin, on a journey to explore the world and collect treasures. This side-scrolling game was released on Coinbase’s native Layer 2 platform, Base, marking Pixelmon’s initial foray into hypercasual gaming.

In addition to KTA, Pixelmon is gearing up for the launch of its second hypercasual game, PixelPals, in the first quarter of 2024. PixelPals offers players a unique blend of pet and habitat management combined with trading card mechanics, providing an engaging gaming experience on Mantle, a platform for decentralized applications. 

Pixelmon’s commitment to its core IP is evident in its plans for upcoming releases, which include a revamp of its free-to-play desktop title, Arena, featuring survival-based horde gameplay and new Pixelmon abilities. The game is slated for release in 2024, aiming to enhance player engagement with improved core game loops. 

Additionally, Pixelmon is gearing up for the launch of Hunting Grounds, an open-world adventure game with RPG elements and PvP autobattler tournaments. The game is set to enter open beta in 2024, followed by a full release in early 2025, offering three distinct modes: combat, social hub/metaverse, and exploration.

Further, Pixelmon aims to extend its decentralized IP ecosystem across various verticals, including merchandise, trading card games (TCG), animated series, and comic books, through franchises, sublicenses, and joint ventures. 

The company’s intellectual property fractionalization system, Mon Protocol, enables the distribution of ownership rights to trademarkable game characters among NFT holders, allowing them to participate actively in the franchise’s long-term success. 

Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, highlighted the importance of this decentralized IP system in empowering creative communities and core fan bases to engage with the franchise, leveraging true digital ownership and network effects for sustained growth.

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