Soulbound raised $4 million in funding for its Web3 social gaming ecosystem.
The company’s latest round concluded in the second quarter of 2024 with participation from leading gaming and blockchain communities, said Casey Grooms, cofounder of Soulbound, in an interview with GamesBeat.
The company’s investors to date include Blocklords CEO David Johansson, iAngels, Animoca Brands, Big Brain Holdings, NGC Ventures, Panony, Delta Blockchain Fund and more.
The investment will advance Puerto Rico-based Soulbound’s work by enabling it to establish gaming partnerships, add social interactions, and expand streamer bounties and social questing. Since its inception, Soulbound has tripled its team with experts from the engineering, business development, and community-building fields.
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The team is currently implementing a Twitch livestream integration for Soulbound-partnered games and continuing to improve user experience. Soulbound’s TGE is expected to take place in the second half of 2024.
The cofounders have backgrounds in mobile gaming, user acquisition, and traditional gaming. The platform’s mission is to “empower the new creator economy” and they are all about giving creators in the gaming space a new way to earn their living.
Grooms said they moved away from the DAO model (with Saga) to rebuild a startup that could function more effectively. They started with a platform called Popdrip that was focused on NFT (non-fungible token) sticker interactions and posting social content.
But Grooms said this effort evolved into Soulbound with the addition of game questing. The platform launched in March and April, and has grown to integrate the streaming and bounty programs. They are seeing continuous growth over the past few months.
Soulbound said it is poised to onboard the next generation of players, streamers, and creators into eb3 gaming. Users can earn non-transferable DRIP tokens for engaging with Soulbound and partnered games, showcasing their favorite gaming accomplishments linked to their unique gaming identity and flexing on their streams.
The new UI and branding goes live this month, and game streaming is central. This is the feature that caught on the most with their audience, so the new interface has streaming as an integral component. They are a big supporter of the StreamFi movement and view Soulbound streamers as a bridge between web2 and web3 gaming.
It functions as a cross between Twitch and Steam, where users can showcase their accomplishments but also have the community interaction component. These interactions are captured in the “slapping” mechanism. Artists can upload their stickers to the sticker marketplace, which is a nice new revenue stream for them, Grooms said.
Gameplay videos, Twitch clips, and community “vandalism” interactions where users can slap stickers directly on others’ posts are also redefining social gaming for Soulbound users. Streamers and creators will have access to fresh revenue channels with streaming bounties and a sticker marketplace for artists and collectors.
One of the most exciting features Soulbound will be introducing is an in-stream wager mechanism, where users can guess whether a streamer will do something in-game (like a certain move) or something on the stream, like sneezing. It’s like Polymarket meets Twitch.
For collaborations, Soulbound works with Web3 and Web2 games to launch activations, using bounties as a reward for streamers or content creators. They’ve heard from platform users that this is a welcome addition to the gaming space, as there are no complex contracts but just straight pay-outs.
And game studios appreciate the rapid access to UGC produced by the bounty programs. Soulbound is a new place for them to foster community and encourage interaction, Grooms said.
Players have “slapped” posts with over 20,000 stickers to date. The Soulbound platform extends beyond gamers into the B2B space. Game studios leverage Soulbound to acquire and interact with users by launching streamer bounty pools, featured quests and targeted promotions through data-driven profiles and user-generated content.
The company is currently onboarding two new games per week to its platform. They have hosted streaming activations with Shrapnel and Echelon, attracting over 200 players in competitive tournaments with over 10,000 minutes streamed.
“Gaming is no longer a solo experience,” said A.I. Mansbridge, CEO of Soulbound, in a statement. “Game studios, gamers, and streamers want to reach new audiences. Soulbound is a bridge for traditional gamers, streamers, and game studios to the expansive blockchain gaming space.”
“Gamers, streamers, artists, and developers are tired of the gaming status quo,” said Grooms. “Soulbound is building a social platform that shakes up the traditional community interaction model. With support from our investors, we will deliver a first-of-its-kind avant-garde social gaming experience.”
Previous investors included Animoca Brands and Big Brain Holdings.
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