Moonveil Entertainment has raised $5.4 million to build web3 mobile games that prioritize gameplay over speculation. The studio is betting that mobile players want depth and ownership, not just another token farm.
Moonveil Entertainment is led by CEO MJ Wong, who spent over a decade in game development and publishing, including time at Riot Games in China. The rest of the founding team comes from Riot Games, Tencent, and various crypto projects.
We don't want people coming in only because it's a Web3 game for speculation. We want gamers to come in because they love the product, love the game, and then gradually figure out how we can empower them to make that happen.
The funding came in two stages. Gumi Cryptos Capital and Arcane Group led the round, with participation from Longhash, IOSG, and Infinity Venture Crypto. Moonveil initially raised $3 million in September 2022, then closed an additional $2.4 million recently.
The studio's pitch is that web3 should support the game, not define it. Players should show up for the experience, then discover how blockchain features enhance what they're already doing. Moonveil frames web3 as a tool for three things: linking in-game achievements to real compensation, validating player contributions, and making ownership permanent.
The team's take on what web3 should do:
Connection: Tie what players accomplish in-game to tangible rewards outside of it.
Validation: Recognize the time and effort players invest in the game.
Legitimization: Give players actual, lasting ownership of what they earn.
Moonveil has two games in development. The first is AstrArk: Stage One, a tower defense game with PvP and PvE modes. Players pick a commander, assemble a team, and fight across different battle types.
The second project, called Project B, hasn't been detailed yet. The studio plans to reveal it in November 2023. The goal is a mid-core game that's easy to pick up but has enough complexity to keep players engaged.
We truly believe that there could be value that we can bring from the web3 features and community. A lot of other web3 games go about it the wrong way in my opinion. We see the value from web3 by providing connections that can help the players to connect your endgame achievement and out-of-game accomplishments in a more effective way. And I personally truly believe gamers need to be and should be better treated right now.
Moonveil's approach is straightforward: make a good game first, then figure out how web3 fits. Whether that actually works depends on execution, but the funding gives them room to try.
