Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has announced an investment of $15 million into blockchain game publisher Xterio. The startup is embracing the free-to-play gaming model while also allowing players to earn NFTs by playing its games.
Xterio is currently developing eleven games, ranging from mobile Japanese RPGs like Blackdawn to MMO PC games like Blocklords and Abyss World. The latter two are utilizing different blockchains – Polygon and Sui respectively. The funds will be used for game and technology development, as well as exploring AI integrations into its titles. Xterio is creating an “emotion engine for artificial intelligence” and an AI toolkit to generate game assets. The AIpal digital companion game is expected to launch a closed beta later this year.
In August 2020, Xterio raised $40 million from investors like FunPlus, XPLA, and FTX Ventures. Additionally, Xterio itself invested $2.5 million into Overworld, a multiplayer RPG game studio, which is developing its namesake title.
When asked if crypto gaming was a key focus for Binance Labs, a spokesperson said that the firm “believes that blockchain gaming is a key area for application layers.” Binance Labs supports traditional game developers and studios moving into the blockchain gaming space, citing its investments in Gomble and Xterio. The firm also clarified that its investments are “chain and sector agnostic.”
Xterio co-founder Michael Tong expressed optimism that the investment will help launch an ecosystem token and high-quality games.
