Key Takeaways
- • Gardens Interactive closed a Series B round of over $35 million led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, bringing total funding raised to more than $70 million.
- • The round was reportedly raised at a $190 million pre-money valuation, per one trade report.
- • Co-founded by industry veterans behind Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Sky: Children of the Light, the Los Angeles-based studio is developing its debut multiplayer title, Project Gardens.
- • Participating investors include Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Innovation Endeavors, Zenith Capital and Bayshore, alongside individual investors Stewart Butterfield, Andy Zhong and Thomas Dimson.
- • Krafton, the South Korean developer, will be represented on the board by Mike Hong, while Lightspeed's board representative is former TikTok COO V Pappas.
Summary
Los Angeles-based game studio Gardens Interactive has raised more than $35 million in a Series B funding round, according to GamesIndustry.biz, bringing its total funding to more than $70 million. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. One trade report puts the round at a $190 million pre-money valuation. Other reported participants include Zenith Capital, Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Innovation Endeavors and Bayshore, along with individual investors Stewart Butterfield, co-founder and former CEO of Slack; Andy Zhong, founder and CEO of FunPlus; and Thomas Dimson, co-creator of OpenAI's Sora.
The studio was co-founded by industry veterans responsible for Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch and Sky: Children of the Light. It is currently developing its debut game under the working title Project Gardens, which is described as a multiplayer "shared fantasy adventure" with "social roleplay elements." In a statement quoted by GamesIndustry.biz, CEO Stephen Bell said social roleplay "means empowering players to be the engines of one another's adventures," and that the company was proud to unite the investor group.
Governance changes accompany the round. Moritz Baier-Lentz, head of gaming and interactive media at Lightspeed, joins Gardens Interactive as an independent advisor, and former TikTok COO V Pappas will serve as Lightspeed's representative on the board. Krafton, the South Korean developer, will be represented by Mike Hong, director of investments and business analysis, succeeding Maria Park, Krafton's head of corporate development, who joins the leadership team as an independent advisor.
The studio was co-founded by industry veterans responsible for Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch and Sky: Children of the Light. It is currently developing its debut game under the working title Project Gardens, which is described as a multiplayer "shared fantasy adventure" with "social roleplay elements." In a statement quoted by GamesIndustry.biz, CEO Stephen Bell said social roleplay "means empowering players to be the engines of one another's adventures," and that the company was proud to unite the investor group.
Governance changes accompany the round. Moritz Baier-Lentz, head of gaming and interactive media at Lightspeed, joins Gardens Interactive as an independent advisor, and former TikTok COO V Pappas will serve as Lightspeed's representative on the board. Krafton, the South Korean developer, will be represented by Mike Hong, director of investments and business analysis, succeeding Maria Park, Krafton's head of corporate development, who joins the leadership team as an independent advisor.
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