Zynga Co-founder’s Gaming Firm Teams Up With Binance Smart Chain
Zynga Co-founder’s Gaming Firm Teams Up With Binance Smart Chain
(Bloomberg) -- Blockchain gaming company Gala Games has received funding from the Binance Smart Chain’s $100 million Accelerator Fund.
Two-year-old Gala, founded by Zynga Inc. co-founder Eric Schiermeyer, is building a platform to allow players to own any in-game items and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, that they buy or earn, in a decentralized ecosystem that also gives them a voice in game development, according to the company.
In addition to the funding, Gala will team use the Binance Smart Chain -- a blockchain launched in 2020 by global crypto exchange behemoth Binance Holdings Ltd. as a place to develop more sophisticated decentralized apps -- to offer players a wide variety of choices for management of their assets. That greater degree of control over the gaming experience is essential to Gala’s core mission of empowering gamers, according to a company statement. A Gala spokesperson declined to detail the terms of the funding, citing a confidentiality agreement.
“Gamers are very familiar and comfortable with concepts around digital and in-game assets,” said Samy Karim, BSC ecosystem coordinator, in an email. “We will continue to support teams driving change and innovation in the industry.”
Gala has about 1.8 million monthly active users, according to its website, and says it aims to make the blockchain “invisible” in its games. It has two games in development, the Town Star management simulation and Mirandus fantasy role-playing game, and two more from other developers. The platform is partially owned and operated by its players, who can earn tokens by playing and use those to decide the future of each game.
“We are looking forward to working together to drive real-world adoption of blockchain technology through gaming with BSC’s support,” said Jason Brink, president of blockchain at Gala Games, in an email.
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