London-based esports organisation Fnatic have announced a strategic partnership and investment with crypto-focused investment firm Hivemind Capital.
Alongside Hivemind, other web3 organisations joining this investment round include GuildFi, IndiGG, Paribu Ventures, Polygon, Presto Labs, Trinito and WW ventures, with the goal of ‘helping to enable digital ownership of assets and turnkey solutions for new games to build robust economies’.
The deal aims to ‘accelerate Fnatic’s ability to partner as well as natively develop and scale web3 applications across its award-winning esports platform’, according to a press release. Web3 is a term used to describe the next iteration of the internet with a focus on the blockchain, tokens and decentralisation.
Fnatic say the strategic partnership will allow them to expand beyond existing partnerships and further develop their own native web3 applications to boost gamer performance.
The backing by Hivemind will also help build momentum towards Fnatic’s long-term goals of ‘scaling game economies through broader creation and ownership of digital assets’ and is part of Fnatic’s aim to seek out additional web3 opportunities.
“The partnership with Hivemind represents a big step for us towards a world where every gamer owns their digital assets and most games have an app-store-like developer-user ecosystem that’s transparent, thriving and enables millions more gamers to make a living from gaming.”
Sam Mathews, Fnatic
The news comes just over one year after Fnatic announced a partnership with Crypto.com in multi-year deal worth more than £10m. Fnatic’s other activities in web3 include their game partnerships like the recently announced Guild of Guardians collaboration, or the launch of Fnatic’s web3-powered membership programme.
“Fnatic and its global fanbase represent exactly the type of web3-ready franchise we are excited about,” said Matt Zhang, founder and managing partner of Hivemind.
“The iconic Fnatic brand is a pioneer in the esports space, and the management team has built a strong, technology-enabled business with a years-long track record. We believe gaming as a sector aligns uniquely with blockchain functionality and applications – making Fnatic a natural candidate for sponsored acceleration of its web3 efforts.”
“We think that games are rapidly becoming platforms for their communities,” added Sam Mathews, founder and CEO of Fnatic.
“So while scaled web3 gaming is still a while away, blockchain-enabled digital assets and applications are accelerants for games and the communities around them. The partnership with Hivemind represents a big step for us towards a world where every gamer owns their digital assets and most games have an app-store-like developer-user ecosystem that’s transparent, thriving and enables millions more gamers to make a living from gaming.”
In other recent Fnatic news, the org launched a lofi hip-hop music label and a custom Fnatic x BMW Vision Mouse.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
