VanEck invests in Web3 gaming startup Gunzilla

VanEck’s private crypto fund has invested in gaming startup Gunzilla Games, marking the asset manager’s second bet on Web3-enabled gaming, VanEck said on Oct. 31.

Gunzilla is the creator of Off The Grid, a “dystopian cyberpunk shooter” where players earn Gunzilla’s native GUN token, VanEck’s Matt Maximo said in a post on the X platform.

“We see crypto as a tool to enhance gaming experiences and improve monetization strategies,” Maximo said.

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Gaming startups attracted $517 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to data from Konvoy, a venture capital firm.

In March, VanEck invested in Parallel, a Web3 card game where tradable cards are represented onchain as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Parallel said.

Parallel’s $35 million funding round also included contributions from Solana Ventures and Coinbase’s Base Ecosystem Fund.

“Gamers have been building systems to enable selling of in-game items for decades,” Maximo said, adding Steam’s peer-to-peer gaming marketplace has seen more than $32 billion in trading volume.

“Blockchain can solve gamers’ desire for transparency and control over in-game items,” Maximo added.

In Off The Grid, players earn GUN tokens, which unlock in-game items that players can hold in Web3 wallets.

Players also use GUN tokens to purchase in-game items directly on Off The Grid’s Web3 marketplace.

Gunzilla’s marketplaces are operated on an Avalanche (AVAX) subnet called GUNZ, according to Maximo.

“The blockchain component of OTG is a technical solution to creating a marketplace for players to trade cosmetic items — an ultra-successful model pioneered by Steam” and others, Maximo said.

Gunzilla brought on Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon, and director Neill Blomkamp to lead Off The Grid’s creative design.

In 2022, VanEck launched its Digital Asset Alpha Fund to invest in liquid tokens using traditional valuation methodologies, according to the fund’s website.

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