The ultra-competitive GameFi industry is set to become even more rivalrous today with the arrival of a new and extremely talented team that aims to make a real impact in Web3 gaming.
Kokomo Games, a new GameFi studio with ambitious plans to construct a unified multichain mini-gaming empire, has exited stealth today after closing an oversubscribed angel funding round. It’s led by a talented team of experienced developers, and it has gotten the attention of some astute, well-known backers who have already made big waves in the crypto sector.
The Kokomo Games team includes industry veterans who previously helped to design and build popular mobile games like Call of Duty Mobile and League of Legends. Together, its team members have helped to scale Web3 token projects worth a combined $1 billion-plus, raised over $200 million in funding, and created a number of diverse decentralized applications.
As such, they believe they have what it takes to transform the GameFi niche by bringing Web3 capabilities to some of the most popular Web2 game concepts. The plan is to combine popular gaming genres with DeFi financial structures to boost the incentives and addictiveness of such games.
To that end, the startup says it is introducing a “novel approach” to Web3 gaming based on “unique retention mechanisms” that it insists have never been seen before in the industry, in order to ensure gamers won’t lose interest in its games. It has also conceived of an entirely original new token model that will help players to accrue value across its entire ecosystem of games.
According to Kokomo, the idea is to enhance the proven engaging gameplay experiences of Web2 with the rewards and incentives that are unique to Web3. Like many Web3 developers, Kokomo ultimately intends to build up a cohesive ecosystem of numerous gaming titles, where players can earn real-world rewards for their skills, efforts and investments.
Kokomo is planning to debut its first game very soon. It hasn’t said a whole lot about that game, but we know what it will be called: Be sure to keep an eye out for “One Million and One Kokos”, which promises to be an alternative spin on the viral “Web3 clicker model”, the developers explained, drawing inspiration from earlier viral Web2 concepts, but integrating Web3 elements and a competitive multiplayer aspect to its gameplay. The game is set to debut on the Telegram messaging app, which has emerged as one of the most popular blockchain gaming platforms through its association with the TON blockchain.
While some readers might assume Kokomo’s pitch all sounds a little too cliche, its ability to attract some of the highest profile names in crypto suggests it could be building something truly special. Its backers include the DJ and record producer Steve Aoki, who has become one of the music industries’ biggest advocates of NFTs, as well as Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park. Various other angel investors from entities such as The Sandbox, Crypto.com, Kraken, Republic and even SoftBank Group Corp. also participated in the oversubscribed angel round.
In addition, Kokomo was recently named as “Web3 startup of the day” by LBank’s growth marketing manager Ayman Kafi in a post on LinkedIn.
Kokomo Games’ co-founder and studio lead Ben Seipt said he believes the company will strike gold with a winning formula that’s focused on proven Web2 experiences. The plan is to enhance those games with “successful blockchain models in a community-driven, anyone-can-win-setting”, he said.
“Our vision is to build a casual, social, yet competitive mini-gaming ecosystem where players enjoy tangible rewards and incentives from hundreds of easy and fun games across multiple platforms,” he added.