The company's Libplanet-powered gaming scenario: What could possibly go wrong?

Planetarium Labs, a gaming company driven by the community, has raised $32 million in series A funding. The funds were provided by Animoca Brands, Samsung Next and WeMade. Planetarium will use the money to build a blockchain-based gaming ecosystem that gives players an opportunity to participate in the game network while allowing members of the community to sit at the table.

The company said that it is developing a gaming environment using Libplanet blockchain technology, and this will allow gamers to join the game network while also allowing users to have a voice in open-source content development.

Planetarium Labs will invest in the expansion of core tools for community-driven gaming and player governance, as well as allowing key studios to deliver sophisticated Web3 gaming experiences. The company aims to focus on the Libplanet ecosystem for decentralized gaming and establish a variety of projects including an ecosystem fund and community assistance programs to encourage participation.

The capital raise also establishes a vast network of connections for Planetarium Labs in Asia, including Krust Universe, the investment branch of South Korean technology giant Kakao, and WeMade, a worldwide publisher of play-to-earn MMORPG MIR4 on the WEMIX platform. In his statement about this development, Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands said:

“We strongly believe that the future is massive decentralized worlds in an open metaverse, which is why we are delighted to support Planetarium Labs’ vision of community-centric blockchain games that empower players with creative freedom and full digital rights.”

Animoca Brands is one of the most active investors in the Web3 spaces. Its other holdings include The Sandbox (SAND) and Axie Infinity (AXS). The gaming and venture capital firm completed its landmark acquisition of Eden Games, creators of the Gear.Club, Test Drive series, and other popular racing games in April. 

In recent years, blockchain gaming has become a widespread use case for the technology as the industry looks to move away from centralized models that have been the norm. As more gamers join and digital assets are collected and traded, crypto gaming has exploded in popularity, providing a consistent revenue stream for game developers while also creating value for players. Despite bearish market sentiments overall, game finance or GameFi appears to be resilient and growing as bears take control of the crypto market while nonfungible tokens (NFTs) floor prices decrease. 

In 2022, GameFi will have to withstand the harsh market conditions. If they can do that, they could survive because of their fantastic gameplay and robust in-game economies with a high degree of economic freedom. The marriage of gaming and decentralized finance opens a universe of previously unimaginable possibilities for many gamers, allowing them to earn a living while playing high-quality, entertaining games.