Line Games’ web3 gaming arm raises seed round to put popular titles on-chain

Line Games’ web3 gaming arm Nerdystar announced a $5.8 million seed round on Tuesday to produce blockchain games based on some of the brand’s most successful web2 titles.

South Korean investment firm Blocore led the round, which also saw participation from Bitkraft Ventures, FTX Ventures, GuildFi, Formless Capital, VistaLabs, Seum and SBXG. The company previously received $5 million from Line Games, bringing its total funding to almost $11 million.

Nerdystar launched in February this year with Line Games’ former head of business, Alan Huh, as CEO. It currently has a team of more than 100 developers and artists, most of whom are transplants from Line Games’ Oozoo studios.

Line Games is an affiliate of the Japanese social media giant Line, which itself launched a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace earlier this year. 

In emailed comments to The Block, Huh said Nerdystar has plans to develop features such as a marketplace and a DAO and offer NFT staking. The company is looking at DAOs as a way of granting players greater ability to develop and operate games as they desire.

It also plans to read and analyze users’ on-chain transactions to provide them with personalised NFT items. 

“For example, if the user is interested in investments and trades, we will provide NFT items that could contribute to the game economy. If the user is more down to playing games, an NFT item that could boost their gameplay will be provided,” Huh said.

The company’s first game, Desperado B218: The Scars of Exos, will launch by the end of this year on Polygon through Nerdystar’s blockchain gaming platform, Luxon.

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