Moonveil Entertainment raises $5.4M for Web3 multiplayer mobile games

Moonveil Entertainment has raised $5.4 million for multiplayer mobile games using blockchain technology.

The vision of the studio is to craft top-notch gaming experiences that seamlessly combine casual flexibility with authentic fun depth.

Gumi Cryptos Capital and Arcane Group led the round (which had two parts) with additional support from other investors such as Longhash, IOSG and Infinity Venture Crypto. The company raised $3 million in September 2022 and $2.4 million more recently.

Founded by MJ Wong and several other game veterans, Moonveil is made up of a dedicated team of experienced professionals in the gaming industry.

Moonveil is working on the development of two multiplayer mobile games: AstrArk: A fast-paced tower defense with player-versus-player (PvP) multiplayer, and Project B (code name), a stealth-mode multiplayer strategy game. More detailed information is set to be released later this year.

Origins

Wong, the CEO, was previously a senior leader at Riot Games in China with a decade of experience in game development and publishing. Before joining Riot, he was an investment banker. The other founders come from Riot Games, Tencent and the crypto community.

Wong tried out investment banking at first but didn’t like it. He used to play hours of games daily such as StarCraft, and so he turned to gaming for a career. He joined Riot Games in its China office and spent seven years there, starting as a junior publishing associate and winding up as the general manager in China. He helped incubate titles like Wild Rift and Teamfight Tactics.

He left Riot in 2019 and started exploring a startup. And he assembled the team and explored the notion of making high-quality mobile games with Web3 features. Held up by the zero COVID policies in China, the team got underway in November 2022 as it got its first round of funding. The company has about 35 people now. The leaders operate in an office, but other contributors can work remotely.

I saw a brief demo of the gameplay and it looks interesting and simple. The feedback has been positive so far, Wong said.

The vision

At Moonveil, player experience is the heart and soul of everything the team does. They firmly believe that crafting exceptional game experiences is a collaborative endeavor, and it relies on the combined input of all the gamers they aim to delight.

The mission is to establish an open ecosystem that keeps players deeply engaged with the company’s games while offering them ongoing rewards and recognition that they rightly deserve.

In that respect, they view Web3 as a potent tool that empowers games in three fundamental ways:

• Connection: It serves as the bridge connecting a gamer’s accomplishments with their compensation.
• Validation: It reaffirms our unwavering commitment to players who dedicate themselves to contributing.
• Legitimization: It bestows legitimacy upon players’ ownership within the gaming realm throughout their lifetimes.

For gamers, the company advocates for a pure meritocracy approach where they can always have the freedom to choose the games they want to play, without being restricted by platforms, channels, or equipment requirements.

AstrArk: Stage One

Astrark: Stage One is an immersive tower defense mobile game that centers around PvP and player-versus-environment (PvE) battles, and cooperative multiplayer experiences.

In this game, players have the freedom to handpick their commander character, assemble their team members, and tailor their development system to strategically craft formations on the tactical squad interface. Subsequently, they can opt for various battle modes, challenge opponents, and immerse themselves in the gameplay.

Throughout the game, players get to choose a commander and summon team members by expending points earned during the battles, implementing in-game strategies like progression and enhancement of team members to bolster their tactical squad’s combat prowess.

The incorporation of the “destiny” element within the game introduces additional layers of strategic decision-making, injecting an element of unpredictability into the ultimate quest for victory. To emerge victorious, players must triumph over the summoned adversaries on the battlefield.

Project B

Project B is a multiplayer strategy game with a significant surprise. At the moment, it’s still under wraps. The secret will be unveiled this November.

From a gaming perspective, the company wants to create a mid-core game that’s easy to pick up, not too hard to learn, but offers a deep and immersive experience.

Each game session lasts about five minutes on average, never exceeding 10 minutes. It takes less than three minutes to learn and enjoy but offers hundreds of hours of immersion and exploration.

Web3 plans

Wong believes that gamers deserve better treatment: Those who invest their time, money, and ideas into their favorite games should reap better real-life rewards as the game grows.

Financialization and gaming can go hand in hand. Players can use decentralized financial tools in a more accessible and flexible way to participate in the value co-building of games and get corresponding rewards based on their contributions, the company said.

“We don’t want people coming in only because it’s a Web3 game for speculation. We want gamers to come in because they love the product, love the game, and then gradually figure out how we can empower them to make that happen,” Wong said.

And it believes player communities should get more attention throughout a game’s life cycle. The team isn’t into the whole solitary, work-in-isolation vibe; it’s all about that community synergy.

Once they’ve made their mark, the team firmly believes that gamers deserve not only rightful recognition but also compensation that reflects their contributions. This contribution will be meticulously tracked alongside their identity in a flexible, composable, and immutable manner, accommodating various preferences, be it spending, grinding, or promoting. This is where Moonveil sees tokenomics and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) playing pivotal roles in a player’s journey.

“We truly believe that there could be value that we can bring from the Web3 features and community,” Wong said. “A lot of other Web3 games go about it the wrong way in my opinion. We see the value from Web3 by providing connections that can help the players to connect your endgame achievement and out-of-game accomplishments in a more effective way. And I personally truly believe gamers need to be and should be better treated right now.”

Wong acknowledged that the larger crypto environment is still tough and so the company has postponed plans to roll out its non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for now.

“We also know that a bunch of gaming studios are running out of money. So, they’re all in their NFT launches and PR and campaigns in Q4, as either blockbuster or die,” Wong said. “As someone who came from finance, I see this as a normal stage, when the early adopters are those who abuse the system or are speculators. That’s normal because those people smell the opportunity. And then in the end, the true value of the market, how the capital market can help on the efficient allocation of capital among society, how the capital can help innovators and builders to grow more faster, will be delayed.”

It reminds him of the days of J.P. Morgan in the 1860s to 1890s, where there were so many speculators and scams. The other similar time was with the internet bubble in 2000.

“Some people saw the opportunity way earlier than ecosystem was mature enough,” he said. “I think financialization is good for a company, for product and for the game. It’s about how we can leverage that to build the early community with good intentions, how we reward them with meaningful incentives.”