On September 21, Proof of Play, spearheaded by Amitt Mahajan who is the co-creator of Farmville, secured $33 million to develop Web3 games. Amitt Mahajan is the CEO of Proof of Play, with Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear occupying a seat on the board.

This funding round saw co-leadership from Chris Dixon at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Neil Mehta at Greenoaks. There was participation from notable investors, like Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, and the originators of the streaming platform Twitch. Several Web3 companies, including Anchorage Digital, Mercury, Firebase, Zynga, and Alchemy, also contributed to the investment.

In 2009, Farmville, which had a lifespan of almost 11 years, ultimately met its demise at the close of 2020 when Zynga, its parent company, decided to terminate the game. This decision left its users furious.

Proof of Play’s CEO, Mahajan, shared that:

“As one of the creators of the game FarmVille, I saw this firsthand as 300 million players invested over a billion hours into their digital farms. In 2020, due to a shift from web to mobile gaming technology, FarmVille was shut down and those billion hours of player investment were forever lost. There had to be a better way.”

The company announced its capability to surmount numerous obstacles typically faced by players when trying to engage in Web3 games. They declared possession of a collection of technological and product innovations designed to swiftly immerse players in enjoyable gameplay without necessitating prior knowledge of blockchain.

In December 2022, Proof of Play launched the closed beta testing phase for its inaugural game, Pirate Nation. Following its recent announcement, Proof of Play wasted no time unveiling the launch of a “free-to-play” mode for Pirate Nation.

This blockchain-based game has consistently introduced weekly updates. These encompass card-based combat, the creation of islands, and engaging community-driven world boss raids.

Proof of Play also affirmed its dedication to decentralization, emphasizing that Pirate Nation is a “Forever Game” that can operate without reliance on external servers or creator intervention. Furthermore, the company expressed its intention to eventually release its technology framework as open-source, thereby advancing decentralization even further.

About Proof of Play

Proof of Play is a Web3 gaming company founded in 2022 by veterans of traditional video game companies, like Epic Games, Zynga, and Activision. 

The company focuses on building fun, complex, and innovative games that push the limits of modern blockchains. 

Its first on-chain game, Pirate Nation, is a social role-playing game (RPG) that went live in December 2022.