In a significant development for the gaming industry, PlayMakers has successfully raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to bolster the creation of user-generated content (UGC) across a diverse range of web2 and web3 games.

Founded just a year ago by Ilan Nabeth, Maxime Niankouri, and Costantino Carrega, the PlayMakers team is comprised of former Homa employees, who collectively have achieved a remarkable feat with a combined 600 million game downloads during their previous roles.

Fresh Funding

The pre-seed funding round witnessed substantial interest from notable investors, with RockawayX leading the charge. Key business angels, including Sébastien Borget, Vincent Hart de Keatin, and Hugues Ouvard, also joined in, aligning with PlayMakers' vision of transforming gamers into creators.

PlayMakers envisions a future where players actively contribute to game development through a platform tailored to each game community's unique characteristics.

This white-label platform facilitates the seamless implementation of player-made creations, such as 3D characters, animations, and music, into the game with a single click. Game developers can thereby refresh gaming experiences with new content and explore monetization options.

User-Generated Content

Ilan Nabeth, CEO at PlayMakers, emphasized the company's commitment to supporting both small and large game studios in involving players in the game conception process. He noted, "With PlayMakers, we are supporting small and big game studios to involve their players in the game conception thanks to a dedicated and powerful platform."

As the gaming industry embraces the era of user-generated content (UGC), PlayMakers emerges as a pioneering force. Industry giants like Epic Games and Krafton have also heavily invested in UGC, with Fortnite allocating 40% of its net profits to creators and Krafton establishing a $100 million fund for their creative community.

The raised funds will strategically enhance PlayMakers' toolset and facilitate team expansion to accommodate collaborations with an array of studios. PlayMakers aspires to become the go-to platform for fostering gaming community involvement, promising novel experiences for both gamers and developers.

Martin Kupka of RockawayX expressed confidence in PlayMakers, stating, "We are convinced that the upcoming wave of web3 games will focus on turning players into creators, and PlayMakers offers the perfect, easy-to-implement solution for developers to collect, curate, and integrate player creations."

From Homa to Web3

Ilan Nabeth, one of the first 10 employees at Homa, previously involved in a blockchain gaming venture fund that invested in Sorare, shared his journey into the gaming ecosystem. Drawing inspiration from Sorare's success, Nabeth highlighted PlayMakers' commitment to simplifying the process of creating UGC.

With a pipeline of 15 game developers ready to onboard for its UGC platform, PlayMakers aims to start assisting creators in growing their UGC games in the second quarter. Nabeth emphasized, "We want to involve players in the game creation process," allowing them to contribute new assets and decide on content through community voting.

Final Thoughts

To distinguish itself from major UGC platforms like Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox, PlayMakers enables contributions from anyone using their preferred tools, focusing on collaboration with smaller developers and niche games. PlayMakers is initially concentrating on the U.S. and Eastern European markets, with approximately 70% of UGC revenues going to studios and the remaining split between PlayMakers and the creator.

Investors like Sébastien Borget from The Sandbox are encouraging PlayMakers to expand its reach across different platforms, emphasizing their belief in the potential of UGC. As the gaming industry evolves, PlayMakers positions itself as a key player in fostering collaboration between gamers and developers, making UGC accessible to a broader audience.