Blockchain game startup Gomble gets seed round

South Korean blockchain gaming startup Gomble announced on Monday that it has successfully secured its first institutional investment. The seed funding round was led by Web 3.0 venture capital firms Binance Labs, Spartan and Shima Capital, with participation from Altos Ventures, Animoca Brands, CRIT Ventures and Planetarium.

Gomble is a affiliate of mobile gaming company 111 Percent, creator of games such as "Random Dice." The company aims to popularize blockchain gaming through blockchain-based casual games and non-fungible token (NFT) communities built on metaverse platforms.

Investors also focused on the "popularization" of Gomble's blockchain technology. Although Gomble's games are based on Web3.0, they target Web2.0 gamers, making them more accessible. The collaboration of the 111 Percent team, which has a track record of success in niche markets with games like "Random Dice," was also highly regarded.

Gomble plans to launch "Rumby Stars," a blockchain-based social casual game, next month. Users can form teams and enjoy various types of player-versus-player games in a competitive format. The game will soft-launch in Southeast Asia before expanding to markets in the United States, South America and Europe.

In the second half of the year, Gomble plans to introduce a metaverse platform called "Rumby World." The platform will allow NFT holders to create their own characters, enjoy Rumby Stars and engage in social networking activities. The goal is to provide NFT use cases for holders worldwide, contributing to the increased value of their assets.

"Unlike traditional blockchain games that focus on core gaming, our goal is to target the global market with casual games that everyone, including general users, can enjoy together," Gomble's CEO, Byun Ji-hoon, said.

Write to Jong-Woo Kim at jongwoo@hankyung.com