BITKRAFT Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, Lilith Games and Gaingels join round to drive development of cloud-native tech and sandbox MMO game, led by Raph Koster and Eric Goldberg
SAN MARCOS, Calif. – April 20, 2022 – Playable Worlds announced today that it has secured over $25 million in Series B funding, led by Korean video game publisher Kakao Games Corp., a subsidiary of Kakao, and with participation from return investors BITKRAFT Ventures and Galaxy Interactive. New investors Lilith Games and Gaingels also joined the round, which follows a $10 million Series A in 2020. This strategic investment will be used to drive Playable Worlds’ talent recruitment and fund its cloud-native sandbox MMO game currently in development.
“We’ve proven the foundational technology and continue to work on production of our game, with an aim to reveal our IP soon,” said Raph Koster, CEO and Co-Founder of Playable Worlds. “While we’re not yet ready to peel back the curtains, this funding round will help accelerate us closer to sharing more with prospective players, with a focus on providing a more meaningful experience consisting of rich simulations, fully persistent online worlds, and deeper social mechanics.”
Playable Worlds was co-founded by industry veterans Raph Koster, repeat entrepreneur and designer of Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies; and Eric Goldberg, four-time entrepreneur and designer of MadMaze, the first online game to draw one million players. The company is actively recruiting to join its high-caliber team, and various positions are currently open for application at: playableworlds.com/jobs
“Cloud-native online games lead to multiverses of online worlds,” explained President and Co-Founder, Eric Goldberg. “And these lead to metaverses when eventually connected to the real world. Cloud computing now enables us to build both stronger sandbox MMO games and connected multiverses of experiences.”
“We’re making investments that will fuel innovations in MMO games and bring new concepts to fruition,” said Kakao Games CEO, Kyehyun Cho. “The technology stack that Playable Worlds has implemented and proven thus far significantly influenced the investment, and will certainly play a role in metaverse development. The caliber of the team behind Raph and Eric ultimately sealed the deal, and we’re confident in their ability to execute.”
Lilith Games is a global mobile-first game developer and publisher who has been actively developing toward the metaverse since 2018. Gaingels is a private investor syndicate dedicated to supporting diversity and inclusion in the venture capital ecosystem.
To learn more about how playable these worlds will be, and if this is truly an MMO game for the rest of us*, visit www.playableworlds.com, and follow on Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
*We can neither confirm nor deny the rumor that we are building a game for the rest of us. We’re not certain about Elon. And maybe not Mark.
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About Playable Worlds
Playable Worlds, Inc. is a multiverse company creating immersive worlds with diverse player experiences, social integration, and higher retention, based in San Marcos, CA. Founded in 2018 by online gaming veterans Raph Koster and Eric Goldberg, Playable Worlds creates cloud-native online worlds by combining proprietary technology with expertise in service operations, community building, and online game design. For more information, please visit playableworlds.com.
About Kakao Games Corp.
Founded in 2016, Kakao Games is a leading publisher of online and mobile games, responsible for releasing titles including Pearl Abyss’ Black Desert Online (serviced in North America and Europe until early 2021), KRAFTON’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (serviced in Korea), Kong Studios’ Guardian Tales (serviced in North America, Europe, Latin America and Oceania), Moonlight Sculptor (serviced in North America and Europe) MMORPG Elyon (serviced in North America, Europe and Oceania) and ArcheAge (serviced in North America and Europe).
Media Contact:
TriplePoint, on behalf of Playable Worlds