Arbitrum announces $10 million of games funding, including Wildcard

Arbitrum’s 200 million ARB Gaming Catalyst Program, now rebranded to Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, has announced its first $10 million cohort of investments and grants.

Backed by VCs including Paradigm, Framework, and Bitkraft, Arbitrum Gaming Ventures was approved in June 2024, with the aim of boosting game projects built on Arbitrum.

Coming under scrutiny in 2024, with calls to completely shut it down in 2025, the initiative has now revealed the first five projects receiving investments, spanning across development, publishing platforms, and game infrastructure.

Notably, the chosen projects don’t include any smaller startups, but rather established games and platforms.

“Arbitrum Gaming Ventures is backing proven founders who aren’t just making games – they’re helping create an even more vibrant Arbitrum ecosystem,” said Arbitrum Gaming Ventures partner Rick Johanson. 

As for the five projects, one is the somewhat surprising game Wildcard from Paul Bettner’s Playful Studios. Described as a web2 card collecting MOBA that will launch via Steam and other traditional game platforms, its inaugural NFTs were minted on Ethereum. 

“When we looked toward the future, Arbitrum stood out as the best platform for our game(s). Aside from the obvious technical advantages, we’re excited to have support from Arbitrum Gaming Ventures as we bring Wildcard – and our other projects – to Arbitrum,” commented Playful’s Katy Drake Bettner. 

For now, all that’s been announced about those other projects is Playful’s native web3 streaming platform Thousands. Bringing this and its associated projects including the WC token to Arbitrum is a big deal for the network.

The remaining four companies gaining funding were: 

• Proof of Play – the developer of Pirate Nation and gaming infrastructure including Apex and Boss Chain.
• Xai network – an L3 blockchain optimized for indie gaming.
• Hyve Labs – a web3 game ecosystem distributing games across X, Telegram, Farcaster, web browsers, and more.
• T-Rex – a consumer app blockchain chosen based on the team’s Southeast Asia location, as part of Arbitrum’s broader strategy to expand in global high-growth markets.

“This first cohort reflects our commitment to supporting high-quality experiences that are built for the long term – products that attract players, retain them, and expand meaningful engagement across Arbitrum,” added Johansson.