A swashbuckling video game from Dallas-based studio Psychedelic Games is closer to setting sail thanks to millions in new funding.
The studio announced in late March a $3.5 million funding round to support Golden Sails, its pirate-themed multiplayer online battle arena game currently in the early play testing phase.
“The MOBA genre created some of the most beloved competitive games of the past fifteen years, but the formula has grown stale,” said Devin Richman, CEO at Psychedelic Games, in a release. “Golden Tides asks what a MOBA looks like when you strip away the constraints and rebuild around freedom, exploration, and the chaos of naval combat. This funding lets us bring that vision to the players, and we’re grateful for partners who see the same opportunity we do.”
Golden Tides combines quick, exciting four-on-four action with open-world exploration and is slated for release sometime this year after a public play testing phase. The game features 12 playable characters, with more coming soon, and it intends to reinvigorate the MOBA genre with faster gameplay and greater freedom of approach.
This most recent funding round is led by Krafton, the South Korean video game publisher behind pioneering battle royale game PUBG: Battlegrounds; FlyQuest, an esports organization that shares an owner with the NHL’s Florida Panthers; and Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, a blockchain gaming venture capital initiative.
Founded by brothers Devin and Mason Richman in 2021, Psychedelic Games has more than 50 developers across the country, according to Dallas Innovates. It aimed to bypass traditional venture capital and seek strategic partners to help launch Golden Sails, and the resulting investor group brings experience across the video game ecosystem.
PUBG: Battlegrounds is the second-best-selling game of all time on PC, while the mobile version is a top-10 strategy game on the Apple AppStore. FlyQuest, meanwhile, fields multiple successful esports teams, including in League of Legends and Valorant, two ultrapopular entrants in the MOBA genre. Their investment in Psychedelic Games marks the organization’s first direct investment in a video studio.
“We are thrilled to support a team pushing the boundaries of a fresh and compelling style of gameplay,” said Dan Peng, partner at Arbitrum Gaming Ventures. “The Arbitrum Gaming Ventures team is proud to champion founders who are driving new advances in gameplay, technology, and the spirit of fun.”