What is DPS, which has raised $30.5 million in financing, amid the cold wave of Web3 games?

Author: Zen, PANews

Once one of the main application directions of cryptocurrency and Web3, Web3 games are currently experiencing a severe winter. Not only have many small and medium-sized Web3 game studios ceased operations, but the market value of the leading company Immutable's token has also fallen out of the top one hundred. In the investment and financing market, there have been no major fundraisings for Web3 game projects for a long time, and the related narrative seems to have collapsed.

However, against this backdrop, the independent game studio Distinct Possibility Studios (referred to as DPS) has recently completed a financing round of $30.5 million, a sum that is quite rare in the current Web3 gaming industry. This round of financing was co-led by the game-focused venture capital firm Bitkraft and the European hedge fund Brevan Howard, with participation from the Tezos Foundation, Hashed, Delphi Ventures, Shima Capital, North Island Ventures, and Decasonic, among others.

According to official disclosure, the funds raised will be used to develop its first project - a large-scale open-world persistent first-person shooter (MMOFPS) named "Reaper Actual," which is planned to be released on platforms like Steam and Epic. According to the official statement, the game will also integrate the Ethereum layer 2 chain Etherlink, allowing game assets such as characters, bases, skins, etc., to be traded on-chain.

DPS How did it raise tens of millions of dollars in financing against the trend?

Distinct Possibility Studios (DPS) is a new studio co-founded by several veterans from the gaming industry. Its core leadership team consists of heavyweights from the traditional MMO and large-scale shooting game sectors, which is a key factor in its ability to raise significant funding. The existence of DPS is to take things further and create a more engaging and appealing multiplayer gaming experience.

John Smedley, the founder of DPS, is one of the representative figures in the American gaming industry, especially renowned in the field of online games (MMO). He served as the CEO of Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment, abbreviated as SOE) for a long time, leading the operation and development of many classic games in the company's history. His most famous works include the 3D MMORPG "EverQuest" launched in 1999, and the large free MMOFPS "PlanetSide 2" released in 2013. Among them, "EverQuest" is one of the first graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) and has had a profound influence on the history of gaming.

Before founding DPS, John Smedley's most recent public position was as the General Manager of Amazon Game Studios, where he was focused on developing new game projects, but he announced his formal departure in early 2023. In an email to employees, he wrote: "After careful consideration, I've decided it's time to try something new." Perhaps it was from that moment that Smedley had already decided to establish DPS.

In addition to John Smedley, other key leadership positions at DPS are also held by industry veterans with impressive resumes and rich experience. DPS's Chief Creative Officer Matt Higby has been deeply involved in the online gaming field since joining SOE in 2001. He was involved in the design and operation of "EverQuest II," "Star Wars: Galaxies," and "Free Realms" early on, later serving as the Creative Director for "Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures." He also served as the Creative Director for "PlanetSide 2," where he was fully responsible for the game's worldview, gameplay balance, and subsequent updates.

The chief artist of DPS, Tramell Ray Isaac (commonly known as T-Ray), also has an impressive background. He is a key artistic member of the renowned game series "Fallout" and has created a large number of Vault Boy images. As the art director, he has extensive experience in the visual presentation of the game's worldview, characters, and scenes, having served as art director at top studios such as Interplay, SOE, and Obsidian.

The flagship game "Reaper Actual" with optional Web3 elements

"Reaper Actual" is an open-world persistent first-person shooter (Open-World Persistent FPS). The official description states that this game will "combine tactical shooting gameplay with an MMO-style progression system and strategic faction dynamics." The game is set on the fictional island of Marova, where players take on the role of a mercenary warrior known as the "Reaper," engaging in continuous conflict with other players and various AI-controlled faction powers. Core gameplay includes base building, resource gathering, faction alliances, and large-scale raid battles, with the game world and combat evolving and updating continuously based on player actions. Players' decisions and actions will impact territory control and the progression of in-game events, enhancing the persistent world experience.

Specifically, "Reaper Actual" features the following unique gameplay and mechanics:

• Open World and Faction Confrontation: The game supports free exploration and combat on a large map, where different player factions and AI factions will clash over territory and resources. Players can freely choose to join different factions, collaborate with allies, and engage in large-scale PVP and PVE missions.
• Base construction and resource management: Players can build and upgrade their bases on the map for defense, production, and troop gathering. Base construction and upgrades require resource consumption and affect the types of troops and equipment available in the game.
• Player-driven economy: The game features a player-led economic system where players can produce weapons, vehicles, and equipment for deployment as needed. By completing various tasks and objectives, players acquire resources for construction and expansion, which means player actions directly influence the game's economic cycle and tactical choices.
• Dynamic Tasks and Collision Objectives: The mission system of "Reaper Actual" supports a mix of PVP and PVE gameplay, where mission objectives can overlap or conflict due to the actions of different factions, resulting in unpredictable combat encounters. For example, at the same time, different factions may receive opposing missions, leading to unexpected encounters between player teams, which enhances the tension and diversity of the game.

It is important to note that DPS is not completely staking "Reaper Actual" on the Web3 gaming track; it indicates that optional Web3 asset market features will be provided when the game goes live: items such as skins and bases that players acquire can be bought and sold through this market, which operates on the Etherlink blockchain. This way, "Reaper Actual" retains the free-to-play and social experience of traditional games while allowing players with demand to "own and trade" in-game assets using blockchain technology.

Why choose the obscure L2 network Etherlink?

Etherlink is an EVM-compatible Layer 2 scaling network based on the Tezos blockchain, utilizing Tezos's Smart Rollup technology. It combines the advantages of the Ethereum ecosystem's toolchain (such as compatibility with Ethereum wallets and indexers) with the high-security architecture of Tezos.

The official documentation of Etherlink states that Etherlink can achieve sub-second transaction confirmations (usually below 0.5 seconds), and the transaction costs are extremely low, with each ERC-20 transaction fee typically not exceeding $0.001, making it economically viable for small in-game transactions. In terms of security, the transaction status of Etherlink is regularly published to the Tezos main chain, inheriting the security guarantees of Tezos Layer-1; at the same time, it adopts an open validation and dispute resolution mechanism, ensuring that the network is decentralized and difficult to tamper with.

The advantages mentioned above are important reasons for DPS to choose Etherlink. DPS stated that Etherlink can support a "large volume of transaction demand" and adopts an "energy-efficient" consensus protocol, while also having the capability of "secure and reliable smart contracts." Smedley mentioned that the choice of Tezos and Etherlink is aimed at supporting a large transaction volume, energy-saving protocols, and secure smart contracts. Additionally, the vision of Tezos and Etherlink aligns with her strategy, which is to bring traditional gamers into Web3 by providing options and focusing on accessibility.

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However, more reasons may lie in Etherlink being the "favored child" of Tezos, a Layer 2 solution strongly supported by the Tezos community. Similar to how "Off the Grid" is for Avalanche, Etherlink, which is promoting the first batch of key projects, needs a benchmark game project to "support the platform." Therefore, the Tezos Foundation has invested funds and acted as a strategic investor to guide its on-chain integration with Etherlink.

) What is the outlook for "Reaper Actual"?

Overall, Distinct Possibility Studios' "Reaper Actual" undoubtedly boasts a luxurious development team background and impressive financing scale, but in terms of project progress and industry environment, it is still in a very early stage.

The overall chill in the Web3 gaming space has not yet dissipated. There are still significant uncertainties regarding players' acceptance of on-chain assets, regulatory and compliance risks, as well as the seamless integration of on-chain and off-chain gameplay. Even with the presence of industry veteran John Smedley leading DPS, it is challenging to completely avoid these challenges in the short term. Therefore, while this $30.5 million "counter-cyclical financing" can somewhat boost confidence, a cautiously optimistic attitude should be maintained. In the coming years, the public testing progress of "Reaper Actual", its on-chain economic model, and user retention rates will be the key indicators to assess whether it can truly "break the ice" and make a breakthrough.

In addition, "Reaper Actual" has designed its Web3 features as optional modules, indicating that the team may not have placed all their bets on blockchain. Even if its on-chain version does not meet expectations, players can still enjoy a complete and mature gaming experience. For game developers focused on high-quality products, this is also an effective way to hedge risks.