Private VC firm Andreessen Horowitz has established Games Fund One, a $600 million fund aimed solely at video games. The company will invest in developers to contribute to building the future around the metaverse.
Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, made the announcement on May 18, saying that it will support the next generation of game developers.
Through Games Fund One, the company plans to find startups offering technologies, games, and infrastructure, which might be “key building blocks of the Metaverse.”
“The most successful games today, such as Fortnite, League of Legends, and Minecraft, are communities that retain loyal, long-term users and generate billions of dollars in annual revenue,” a16z said in a statement. “Furthermore, games are also driving innovation across the entire consumer ecosystem, pioneering best-in-class mechanisms for user engagement, retention, and monetization, such as microtransactions, battle passes, and web3 token.”
a16z plans to make investments across three main areas:
- Game studios, especially ones that produce games-as-a-service with high retention, engagement, and user-generated content;
- Consumer apps like Discord and Twitch, which support the gaming ecosystem and offer new opportunities to players;
- Infrastructure that supports the “coming Metaverse,” including tools for virtual economy management, content creation, and live ops.
Andreessen Horowitz has been investing in the games industry for years, supporting companies like Zynga and Oculus. It also backed veterans from Epic Games, Riot Games, and CCP.