Cartridge, a key player in the infrastructure for on-chain games and autonomous worlds, has successfully raised $7.5 million in a Series A funding round. This round was led by Bitkraft Ventures, with participation from Fabric, Dune, StarkWare, Primitive, and Ergodic.

Alongside the funding announcement, Cartridge introduced Dojo 1.0, an open-source developer toolset and framework designed for creating provable games. To celebrate this launch, Cartridge is supporting several on-chain games developed with Dojo, including Loot Survivor, Paved, and Dope Wars.

Cartridge Logo and IPs

Fully On-Chain Games

In an interview with GamesBeat, Tarrence van As, CEO of Cartridge, detailed the company's plans to utilize the new funding to expand its team and ecosystem. He highlighted the significance of Dojo, describing it as a framework for fully on-chain games where the entire state and logic are managed on the blockchain. Additionally, van As mentioned two other key products within their ecosystem: the Cartridge Controller, which handles player identity and reputation, and Slot, their execution layer.

“We have Dojo, which is the framework for defining fully on-chain games — games where the entire state and logic lives on the chain. We have part of the team maintaining that. We’re also continuing to develop two different products we’ve built around that ecosystem: The Cartridge Controller, which deals with player identity and reputation, and Slot, our execution layer.”

Build Games That Last Forever

Nicolas Vereecke, an investor at Bitkraft, also shared insights with GamesBeat regarding Cartridge's strategic direction. He emphasized Bitkraft's belief in web3 as a transformative computing platform for the gaming industry. Vereecke noted that Cartridge's team is at the forefront of building the necessary infrastructure to enable studios and developers to create fully on-chain experiences.

“We strongly believe that using web3 as a computing platform will be, or has the potential, at least, to be another major shift within the wider games industry. It became clear that the Cartridge team was one of the front runners in actually building infrastructure that would allow studios and teams to create these fully on-chain or on-chain experiences.”

Is Blockchain the Future of Gaming?

Vereecke further elaborated on Bitkraft's investment philosophy, which focuses on supporting founders who are pioneering the future of gaming. He asserted that blockchain technology offers numerous benefits to games, and historically, the gaming industry has been a proving ground for new technologies. Vereecke expressed confidence that Cartridge’s approach to using blockchain as a foundational element in game development is significant, predicting that in the next decade, a substantial number of games will integrate blockchain technology.

Series A Fundraise

Van As also discussed the advantages of developing games entirely on-chain, such as reducing resource requirements by leveraging shared components and minimizing go-to-market risks by building within an established ecosystem. He pointed out that blockchain technology, with its native payment systems, can mitigate platform risks and enable sustainable business models that were previously unattainable.

“Previously, you could never really build a sustainable company on top of an existing company — for example, even in [user-generated content] we’ve seen be very successful, there’s very little actual capital formation on top of those ecosystems. Crypto blockchains with their native payment rails can remove the platform risk and allow people to build those types of companies.”

Cartridge Logo

Educational Initiatives and Final Thoughts

To further support the developer community, Cartridge announced new educational and funding initiatives, including the Dojo Sensei Residency Program. This eight-week training program in New York City aims to push the boundaries of what is possible in on-chain game development. Van As emphasized the program's significance, noting that 30 participants, many of whom are currently employed, are dedicating two months to collaborate and innovate within this new modality.

“It’s going to push the needle on what’s possible in this new kind of modality. It’s also a huge testament to the ecosystem we’re building that 30 people, and a lot of them people with existing jobs, are coming to New York to spend two months with us building exciting things together.”

Cartridge's latest funding round and initiatives highlight its commitment to advancing the on-chain gaming ecosystem and fostering a vibrant community of developers dedicated to exploring the potential of blockchain in gaming.

Source: GamesBeat