Forge, a video gaming platform that rewards gamers has announced the launch of its beta phase, accompanied by an impressive $11 million seed funding round.
Forge is the brainchild of gaming pioneer Dennis “Thresh” Fong, Crunchyroll founder Kun Gao, and Cyence founder George Ng.
The investment was led by Makers Fund, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Animoca Brands, with participation from Hashkey Capital, Polygon Ventures, Formless Capital, and Adaverse. Industry-leading organisations such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Riot Games, and Sony Innovation Fund.
A star-studded cast of angel investors from the gaming world, have rallied behind Forge’s mission also, as mentioned in their recent post on X.
We’re honored and incredibly excited to announce our $11m seed round led by @BitkraftVC, @animocabrands, and @makersfundvc with participation from @HashKey_Capital @0xPolygon @FormlessCapital Adaverse.
Alongside our top-tier gaming and Web3 VCs, we welcome a suite of amazing… pic.twitter.com/TCMCZbZSiU
— Forge (@Forge) October 18, 2023
At its core, Forge aims to be the first video game platform that not only connects gamers but also rewards them for their gaming achievements and ongoing play. This comes at a time with the gaming landscape continues to expand with Web3 developments, NFT ownership and drawing in players of all ages and backgrounds.
The central premise of Forge is to allow gamers to control their gaming life, providing them with a platform where they can unlock the value of their gaming profiles and be rewarded for their contributions to gaming communities. This idea underscores the importance of gamers owning assets in the industry’s future.
In there release to celebrate the funding Kun Gao, Co-founder of Forge explained,
“We wanted to create a platform that finally rewards gamers for being who they are, through their profile and history as a gamer, through their passion, engagement, and community participation.”
“We feel very strongly that players should be able to control their gaming life. While Forge is just now entering beta, we already have an incredible lineup of dozens of games and partners who are looking to grow with us by giving gamers something special for joining their community, ” he continues.
At launch, Forge users can connect their various online gaming and social accounts to form a comprehensive Forge profile that represents their unique passion and experiences across games. Through a seasonal Season Pass, players can undertake quests to earn experience points, level up their Season Pass, and access a variety of rewards, including in-game content from Forge’s partner games such as cosmetics, item/character unlocks, virtual currency, and early beta access. Moreover, all beta users stand a chance to win additional rewards through Forge’s weekly bonus rewards program, ranging from Amazon gift cards to brand new gaming PCs.
The platform is also set to be a game-changer for developers, offering them a unique opportunity to connect with their player base and foster deeper engagement with their games. Forge’s flywheel approach is geared toward fostering community growth and enriching the user experience, in turn attracting more games, studios, and publishers to the platform.
Forge’s partner lineup includes Genopets, Mojo Melee, Pixelmon, Portal Fantasy, Rushdown Revolt, and The Sandbox for the beta launch, with new games set to be added weekly. Developers interested in joining the Forge platform can find more information on the Forge website.
Forge is now open to the public in beta, and anyone interested can sign up at forge.gg. Players who join Forge and engage with the community will have the chance to receive a limited edition founders badge, unlocking special features within the Forge community and on the Forge service.
