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Bright Star Studios, developer of the play-to-earn MMORPG Ember Sword, today announced a new investment deal in which it’s bringing on twenty new investors, including several important execs in the gaming industry. The deal is structured and led by Bitkraft Ventures.
The investors, aside from Bitkraft, include Rob Pardo, lead designer of World of Warcraft and former CCO of Blizzard; Ryan Wyatt, head of YouTube Gaming; YouTuber Dr. DisRespect; Kevin Lin, co-founder of Twitch; Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of G2 Esports; John Robinson, COO of 100 Thieves; Night Ventures; Dennis “Thresh” Fong, former pro gamer and co-founder of Xfire; and Sebastian Borgen, co-founder of the Sandbox. Pardo and Fong will also serve as advisers to Bright Star.
Pardo said in a statement, “MMORPGs have always been about the power of a shared community. With Ember Sword, Bright Star has found a new way to give their players true ownership within their virtual world. This has the potential to revolutionize the MMORPG genre.”
Ember Sword is still in alpha mode. Bright Star recently held a land sale, in which users could purchase plots of land within the game. According to the developer, 35,000 gamers have pledged $203 million to buy the digital land, which will allow them to earn the in-game ERC-20 token, Ember.
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Mark Laursen, CEO of Bright Star, said in a statement, “We love the idea of rewarding gamers for the value that they bring to the game and the community. We were blown away by the community’s interest in our land sale and look forward to creating a game that introduces new audiences to MMORPG and enables gamers to earn rewards and make money through in-game activities, including the creation of unique, tradable NFT (non-fungible token) items. With the addition of our incredible team of investors and advisors, we have no doubt that we can continue to re-think what an MMORPG can be by leveraging game-design principles that cultivate player-driven economies and communities.”
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