Blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands has raised a $65 million investment from video game company Ubisoft and various investors, including Tron founder Justin Sun. With this investment Animoca Brands would be valued at $2.2 billion, making it one of the most valuable companies in this blockchain gaming space.
We’ve seen Animoca Brands as an investor on many occasions. They own The Sandbox, F1 Delta Time, and invested in for example Star Atlas, Treeverse and the Flow blockchain. It’s not without reason that their Olympic Games and MotoGP Ignition tap into Flow.
Animoca Brands wants to bring digital property rights to all online users, and they have a focus on gamers. However, the company also works on digital collectibles or GameFi products. They will use the financial injection to fund more strategic investments and acquire game studios they deem interesting. In addition Animoca will be looking to license new IP to add to their portfolio.
Ubisoft has been dipping its toes in blockchain technology for quite some time. They’ve organized entrepreneur labs, inviting the likes of Xaya, Axie Infinity, Splinterlands, Guild of Guardians, Sorare and many others. They also sold some charity NFTs featuring their Raving Rabbids franchise. However, we still haven’t seen NFTs in Assassin’s Creed or one of the Tom Clancy games. However, Ubisoft supports the blockchain-powered game distribution platform Ultra as well.
A future with non-fungible tokens
Animoca Brands is becoming an established name in the world of blockchain games. They invest in blockchain projects, while also developing and publishing themselves. Their move into the blockchain space started in 2018. They for example acquired Pixowl to work on a blockchain version of their mobile gaming brand, The Sandbox. Now The Sandbox will become a virtual world that many consider one of the premium games in the blockchain space.
Mainstream brands and companies show increased interest in the blockchain space. The concept of digital collectibles is something that clicks very well. That’s exactly how companies like for example Topps and Capcom get involved.
