Matr1x has raised $10 million in fresh funding, led by Folius Ventures and SevenX Fund. ABCDE Capital, Jambo, Initiate Capital, and Find Satoshi Lab also participated in the round, pushing Matr1x's total funding to $20 million.
The money goes toward Matr1x Fire, a mobile first-person shooter that borrows heavily from Valorant's visual style — similar maps, weapons, and character designs — but strips out the hero abilities. Players fight in team-based matches where gunplay and recoil control decide the outcome. Matr1x has released two NFT collections so far, with a third planned, offering battle pets and community perks.
Valorant allows heroes to play skills. However, Matr1x Fire is a CS:GO style game which does not allow heroes to wield special powers or skills. The only way you defeat your opponent is to handle your guns well and control your shooting feedback and recoils. Hyperfront is another category, [which] seemingly did copy and paste Valorant, while our game is much more in the category of CS:GO.
Matr1x already has backing from HashKey Capital, Amber Group, and 7up DAO. The team acknowledges comparisons to NetEase's Hyper Front but insists Matr1x Fire plays differently enough to sidestep the problems that sank similar titles. The raise comes during a broader slowdown in web3 funding across the industry. Jason Kam, founder of Folius Ventures, says Matr1x's approach could carve out new ground in a crowded space.
It strikes an elegant balance that may—in the best case—help it achieve critical scale, appeal to the mass market, [and] become sustainably lucrative while side-stepping the Web3 death spiral altogether.
Web3 gaming has struggled to attract consistent investment lately, which makes Matr1x's $10 million raise notable. Whether the studio can deliver a shooter that feels distinct enough to hold players remains the real test, but the funding gives them room to try.
