Gardens Raises $31.3M to Blend Indie Innovation and AAA Ambition, with Support from Lightspeed; Krafton; Transcend; Nintendo Family; Founders of Blizzard, Oculus, and Valorant; and C-Level Executives from Microsoft, Sony, Tencent, and TikTok
“We’re growing a game inspired by our favorite memories playing online RPGs, MMOs, and fantasy action-adventure games over the years, particularly memories shared with strangers”
The Funding Round: Exceptional Team of Investors and Advisors
Los Angeles, CA. July 11, 2023 — Today, Gardens announced their game studio has raised $31.3M in Series A funding with support from an exceptional syndicate, including connections to major gaming platforms, publishers, and industry veterans. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Krafton co-led the round with participation from Dreamhaven (co-founded by Mike Morhaime, founder and long-time CEO of Blizzard Entertainment), TIRTA, Rendered VC, Stephen “Slim” Lim (co-creator of Valorant), Nate Mitchell (co-founder of Oculus), Annie and Jeff Strain (co-founders of Prytania Media, co-creator of Guild Wars and State of Decay), Seth Sivak (VP of Development of World of Warcraft), V Pappas (former COO of TikTok), Julien Merceron (CTO of Bandai Namco) and Craig Kallman (CEO of Atlantic Records), among others. Early supporters, including Seed round lead Transcend Fund and Funplus, also increased their commitments.
With this funding, the company also adds former Microsoft Chairman John W. Thompson, former Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Jack Tretton, former Tencent President and Take-Two CEO Ben Feder, and Yamauchi No.10 (Nintendo Family) to its advisory team.
Gardens co-founder and CTO Lexie Dostal was heartened by the positive reception:
“It’s both inspiring and validating to see so much excitement around our vision for this game and studio, especially from these incredibly accomplished investors and partners. Folks with deep ties to Blizzard, Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, PUBG, Riot Games, Tencent, and more are all coming together around Gardens; we couldn’t be more excited for the party we’ve assembled and the next chapter of our adventure together,” said Dostal.
Adventurers combat an overgrown monster
The Game: Online PvPvE Fantasy Adventure Sandbox ARPG
Gardens co-founder and game director Chris Bell confirmed the studio’s upcoming game will be an ever-evolving online PvPvE fantasy adventure sandbox ARPG:
“It’s a game inspired by our favorite memories playing online RPGs, MMOs, and fantasy action-adventure games over the years, memories of crossing paths with strangers," said Bell. “The game builds upon multiplayer ideas and lessons from previous titles I helped design like Journey, Sky, and even my student game Way, while bringing players into a higher stakes, shapeshifting fantasy wilderness where cooperation is key, yet betrayal is still possible. We’re including novel cooperative gameplay that rewards players who help each other, which can encourage friendship and dialogue with PvP and conflict in interesting and subversive ways. We’re growing the world we want to play in every day, a world designed to offer new experiences every time you play, growing and evolving for years to come. Thanks to our amazing new partners and this latest round of funding, we can continue crafting the best game possible while growing and supporting our incredible team.”
The team includes industry veterans from such acclaimed games as Sky: Children of the Light, Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, Blaseball, Ultima Online, Outer Wilds, Tunic, Dustforce, and Ashen, and films such as The Hobbit and The Adventures of Tintin.
The Gardens development team
The Progress: “Standout” Reception of Prototype Shown at GDC
To kick off the fundraising round, Gardens presented a playable prototype behind closed doors at GDC 2023, receiving exceptional reviews from financial and strategic investors, platforms, and publishers:
“Gardens’ demo is innovative and, above all, joyful. The gorgeous fantasy wilderness is filled with other adventurers, magical creatures, and a charming landscape to explore. The multiplayer co-op elements emphasize tactile interactions between players as they collaborate to navigate the world, solve puzzles and awaken dormant magic, like riding atop a friend’s shoulders to fetch fruit from a tree, leaping across a chasm into the arms of a stranger, tugging armor off a giant monster together, or joining forces to cast a magic spell. It’s amazing to see what the team has accomplished in such a short time. We see a ton of potential for this ambitious project and can’t wait for players to one day experience it for themselves.,” said Maria Park, Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at Krafton, who is joining Gardens’ board of directors.
A daring adventurer takes a leap of faith
The Unique Angle: Gardens’ Blend of Indie Creativity with AAA Ambitions
Investors noted that there is no comparison for Gardens’ combination of indie-like design innovation, creativity, and playfulness on the one hand, and global ambition and commercial focus on the other.
“Gardens truly stands out in contrast to the hundreds of VC-backed game studios that have emerged out of Riot Games, Blizzard, and Epic Games over the past few years,” said Moritz Baier-Lentz, Partner and Head of Gaming at Lightspeed Venture Partners, who is joining Gardens’ board of directors. “Having led investments of over $100 million dollars in the gaming industry to date, Gardens manages to feel magically different from anything I’ve seen. I’m convinced we’re in the early days of something very special, and we couldn’t be more excited to put Lightspeed’s collective dedication and resources behind making Gardens a masterpiece of global success.”
Adventurers confront a deity in the wild
The Opportunity: Calling the most talented game designers, engineers, and artists
To support development efforts and match the scope of their grand fantasy project, Gardens plans to scale up their team significantly this year. For details on open positions with Gardens, visit the team’s careers page, and stay up to date on their development progress by following the Gardens Twitter.
Adventurers approach a cave beneath windswept grasslands
About Gardens
Gardens is a globally-distributed game studio founded by developers of Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, Blaseball, Dustforce, Sky: Children of the Light, and more. Gardens is growing the future of social play — online spaces that bring players together to form lasting relationships and transform the world alongside their communities, offering new adventures far into the future.
Gardens prioritizes high craftsmanship and sustainable development practices, with robust compensation packages and pay transparency, mentorship, and a continued commitment to diversify the voices within. For more information and to view available job postings, visit the team’s careers page.
About Lightspeed
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a globally leading venture capital firm with over $29 billion in capital under management and more than 500 investments across the U.S., Europe, and Asia—including Epic Games, Stability AI, and Snap. Over the past two decades, the firm has backed hundreds of exceptional entrepreneurs and helped build and scale companies to achieve 190 IPOs and acquisitions.
To date, Lightspeed has invested over $350 million into the gaming industry—including many founders who have led the creation of games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Wild Rift, Apex Legends, Overwatch, Valorant, StarCraft II, and Warcraft III. For more information, visit gaming.lsvp.com.
About Krafton
Headquartered in South Korea, KRAFTON, Inc. is dedicated to discovering and publishing captivating games that offer fun and unique experiences. Established in 2007, KRAFTON is home to globally renowned developers that include PUBG STUDIOS, Striking Distance Studios, Unknown Worlds, VECTOR NORTH, Neon Giant, KRAFTON Montréal Studio, Bluehole Studio, RisingWings, 5minlab, Dreamotion, and ReLU Games. Each studio strives to continuously take on new challenges and leverage innovative technologies. Their goal is to win over more fans by broadening KRAFTON’s platforms and services.
KRAFTON is responsible for premier entertainment properties, including PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, PUBG MOBILE, The Callisto Protocol, NEW STATE MOBILE, Moonbreaker, TERA and ELYON. With a passionate and driven team across the globe, KRAFTON is a tech-forward company that possesses world-class capabilities and is set on expanding its business horizons to encompass multimedia entertainment and deep learning. For more information, visit www.krafton.com/en.