NEON Machine, the gaming company behind Shrapnel, a blockchain-based extraction shooter currently in development, has announced today that it just closed a funding round that brought in $20 million. Polychain Capital led the round, which saw participation from Griffin Gaming Partners, Brevan Howard Digital, Franklin Templeton, IOSG Ventures, and Tess Ventures.
Shrapnel’s in-game ecosystem and development roadmap
Shrapnel is being developed by team of experienced gaming professionals who have previously won BAFTA and Emmy Awards. They have mastered the gaming business with experience in gaming-as-a-service, transmedia, virtual production, and blockchain. With Shrapnel, they hope to provide players and developers with a first-person shooter experience unlike any other.
The game involves competing to collect as much loot as possible without getting killed by the other players, and Shrapnel’s use of blockchain technology is a standout feature. Furthermore, the game also gives users the chance to stake crypto, which will help promote custom maps made in a limited version of Epic Games’ Unreal Editor.
Part of the reason behind Shrapne’s successful capital raise is that its development team has already built a reputable name in the gaming community. The team has won multiple honours in addition to publishing two whitepapers, a comic book series, and an amazing film trailer. The team used Epic Game’s Unreal Engine 5 to create the Shrapnel’s cinematic game trailer, displaying the game’s stunning graphics and polished gameplay.
A paid early-access version of the game will be out in December. However, the free-to-play beta version will be out in August, 2024. However, not all of Epic Games’ Unreal Editor’s functionality will be available at launch. Nonetheless, gamers who stake crypto will have a say in the creation and promotion of custom maps.
The NEON Machine team has been around for about 2 years, during which it has grown to about 70 people. The team will use the newly available funds to release playable versions of the game at regular intervals in the lead-up to key project milestones.
The game has also incorporated the Shrapnel Marketplace, where players will buy, sell, and trade in-game items. The other key change will be a feature enabling players to participate in the enhancement of the game’s creator tools, which will enable them to create their own skins, maps, and other in-game items.