Neopets Metaverse has on Thursday announced the successful closing of its latest investment round, where it raised $4 million in funding.
This round saw participation from industry leaders in the gaming and blockchain sectors, including Polygon Ventures, Blizzard Avalanche Ecosystem Fund, Hashkey Capital, IDG Capital, and gaming giant, NetDragon Websoft, Neopets Metaverse said in a statement.
With this round of funding, Neopets Metaverse is set to continue its growth, bringing the magic of Neopets in a positively fresh light to old-time players, as well as attracting and nurturing a new generation of Neopians.
The company looks forward to working with its investors and the broader Game-Fi community to make Neopets Metaverse a reality.
“We are thrilled to garner such strong support from our investors. This funding will allow us to provide a genuinely inclusive and immersive gaming experience that will capture the spirit of the Neopets community,” said Neopets Meta Chief Metaverse Officer Dominic.
This news comes with the successful launch of Neopets Meta Alpha: Winter Edition, which features the Neopia Central and Terror Mountain lands.
The response to the game has been overwhelmingly positive, with players praising the immersive gameplay and nostalgia-infused mini-games, including “Meerca Chase,” “Ultimate Bullseye,” and “Turmac Roll.” The Alpha: Winter Edition is now available on the Neopets Metaverse website and will run until January 31, 2023.
“We believe that GameFi plays a crucial role in the larger metaverse narrative, serving as the interactive layer in the value chain and a key driver of traffic across web 2 and web 3,
“The Neopets IP, in particular, has a massive fan base and we see great potential in its non fungible token (NFT) and play to earn (P2E) features, which allow gamers to truly own and control their assets. We are also honored to have the opportunity to work with founders like Dominic who can always execute and deliver,” said Xiao Xiao, Investment Director of HashKey Capital.
Founded in 1999, Neopets is a play-and-earn, community-driven virtual pet game based on the original Neopets classic.
The platform best known for its classic browser game, which has captured the hearts and created countless core memories for more than 150 million fans across the globe.
The IP’s most recent project, Neopets Metaverse, aims to bring the highly appreciated virtual pet game into the decentralized world, offering players the opportunity to own and monetize their gaming experiences on the blockchain.
The game will be free-to-play and accessible to crypto natives and casual players alike.
“We’re beyond excited to helping a timeless IP like Neopets innovate and build their metaverse. Ava Labs is investing Neopets to support their goal of building an eco-friendly, fast, and low gas metaverse experience and will be working closely with them to bring a top notch product to gamers,” said Ed Chang, Head of Gaming at Ava Labs.