.png?disable=upscale&width=1200&height=630&fit=crop "Krafton, Flyquest, Arbitrum invest .5M on new MOBA")
Psychedelic Games, the team working on the upcoming MOBA Golden Tides, has received major joint funding from three separate entities.
PUBG: Battlegrounds publisher Krafton, esports organization FlyQuest, and venture initiative Arbitrum Gaming Ventures have closed a $3.5 million funding round with the developer. The news was shared last week via the game’s official site.
The studio claims that it took an unconventional path to funding, bypassing venture capital entirely in favor of “strategic partners.” The result, then, is a cap table built not around financial investors, but instead around organizations that “each lend operational value toward Golden Tides’ success.”
“We believe the future of esports will be built through teams and developers working together early—starting in development, continuing through launch, and growing alongside the game as it matures,” said Brian Anderson, CEO of FlyQuest. “Long-term partnerships like this are essential to creating sustainable competitive ecosystems and driving the industry’s long-term success. We love the competitive potential of Golden Tides and our hope is that this first-of-its-kind investment sets a new standard for how esports organizations and game studios collaborate.”
Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, which introduces itself as a supporter and backer of experiences at the intersection of “blockchain gaming, entertainment, and culture,” sees the partnership as a way to support a team that is pushing boundaries in the MOBA.
“The MOBA genre created some of the most beloved competitive games of the past fifteen years, but the formula has grown stale,” said Devin Richman, CEO at Psychedelic Games. “Golden Tides asks what a MOBA looks like when you strip away the constraints and rebuild around freedom, exploration, and the chaos of naval combat. This funding lets us bring that vision to the players, and we’re grateful for partners who see the same opportunity we do.”
Meanwhile, Krafton has been on a steady spreading spree. It’s set to invest $1 billion into Hanwha Aerospace’s global AI, robotics, and defense initiatives. It penned a Memorandum of Understanding with the multinational as part of a broader effort to invest in physical AI.
Krafton has also been in a legal battle with its subsidiary Unknown Worlds. On March 16, the publisher lost the lawsuit and was ordered to reinstate the ousted CEO.
Elsewhere the company reported record-high annual revenue in its February earnings report, driven by the PUBG franchise delivering double-digit growth. Notably, it also emphasized that it will prioritize “future-facing AI innovation” and is focused on “delivering new gameplay experiences powered by AI and innovation across production and live service operations.”
Just yesterday, the publisher shut down PUBG Blindspot, a game that was in early access for only two months.
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