Published on: 10/03/2022
Studio 369 raises $15M in private token, NFT sale for MetalCore
MetalCore Foundation has announced that it raised a $15 million private token and nonfungible token (NFT) sale for mechanized combat game MetalCore, a massively multiplayer online combat game set in the future, featuring mech robots and developed by Studio 369 who said it focused on triple-A quality.
Joining leading purchasers Bitkraft Ventures and Delphi Digital are Immutable, Sanctor Capital, Animoca, Youbi Capital, Bitscale, and Umbrella. Also contributing to the number were leading gaming guilds, including but are not limited to Yield Guild Games (YGG), YGG SEA, Merit Circle, Perion, Avocado and BreederDAO.
MetalCore is the newest installment of NFT games
MetalCore is an NFT game, which means players’ in-game assets are indivisible and unique. They cannot be replicated, stolen, or destroyed and is fully owned by the player. The game will also feature in-game tokens, according to Studio 369 president Matt Candler.
“Our team has extensive game development experience across premium and free-to-play games,” said Candler as quoted from an email conversation with GamesBeat.. “We are gamers ourselves and will deliver fun and rewarding gameplay in this new business model that integrates NFT’s with proven game mechanics.”
Studio 369 said their aim was to combine the experience of high-quality traditional gaming with NFT mechanics such as true asset ownership. As opposed to regular games where digital items bought by players have no inherent value, MetalCore’s in-game economy will facilitate players in buying, selling, and trading their in-game assets as NFTs.
“From our experience in identifying trends and opportunities in the gaming industry, we have seen first-hand how carefully integrated NFT mechanics can create compelling new experiences,” said Piers Kicks of Bitkraft in a statement.
“Studio 369 can leverage their strong game design track record and highly iterative development philosophy to deliver on their ambitious goal of creating an open-world MMO, catering to different player archetypes across game modes.”
Team behind the game
The company was founded in 2021 by Candler, Dan Nikolaides, and Vic Lopez. There are currently 45 people working at the studio, according to Candler.
Many of MetalCore’s development team members helped in developing famous titles such as the MechWarrior 2 franchise, Mortal Kombat, and Gears of War and have experience at Activision, Disney, Lucas Films, and Midway. Among the members of the team are Hugo Award-winning concept artist Stephan Martiniere, who helped develop Magic the Gathering, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, God of War, and Sky.
However, many gamers worldwide have voiced their strong objection against the integration of NFT in games.
“Currently, NFTs are either being retrofitted by gaming studios into existing titles, or NFT-based games are being designed by blockchain developers — and not gaming studios — that are putting NFTs first instead of the gaming experience,” Candler said.
“This has led to many players objecting to NFTs because they are not adding any real value to the game. MetalCore is committed to building a viable free to play (F2P) game that allows players to craft NFTs, without requiring any purchase, and to actually progress in the game successfully for free.”
He added that “MetalCore’s top priority is to make a quality game that is fun and engaging to play”.
“The NFTs are built intrinsically into the game from the ground up and are an integral part of the gameplay,” Candler continued. “Players will be able to own all of the in-game assets such as vehicles, land, pilots and more. We believe this will help to shift the narrative for hardcore gamers who may have had negative experiences with NFTs in other games.”
