Co-founder of Rockstar Games Dan Houser has invested in Revolving Games, a US-based blockchain games company. Interest in integrating blockchain technologies has shown a sharp uptick over the past few years, particularly in the gaming industry. Although opinion on blockchain's role in gaming is seemingly divided within the industry, the former creative lead behind Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption shares a more optimistic outlook on the technology as Dan Houser makes his investment in Revolving Games.
Decades after co-founding Rockstar Games with his brother Sam, Terry Donovan, and Jamie King, Dan Houser left the company back in 2020. He went on to found a new company a year later called Absurd Ventures in the UK as Absurd Ventures in Games in the UK. Interestingly, a separate company dubbed Absurd Ventures LLC was registered in the US in the same year, indicating that the company may not be limited to just video games. However, Absurd Ventures is yet to make any announcements. Though Dan Houser's latest involvement with the blockchain games firm may hint at one possible direction.
After participating in a $13.2 million funding round, Dan Houser will be joining Revolving Games' advisory board. Since the company's launch in 2020, Revolving Games has managed to raise over $25 million where it currently hosts over 100 employees and two studios under its name. Its debut title is set to be a Battlestar Galactica-themed strategy MMO that's in development with NBCUniversal and Gala Games. The company also has a co-op adventure RPG title on the way Skyborne Legacy.
Talking about the company's road ahead, Revolving Games co-CEO Saad Zaeem states the company's vision is to build AAA games that will garner the attention of the industry and will "turn heads amongst the best launches at the top gaming forums like Gamescom and E3." He further mentions that the industry is presently moving from a developer-owned ecosystem to a player-owned ecosystem and that "Revolving Games will be at the forefront of this evolution."
But Dan Houser and Revolving Games aren't the only ones betting on blockchain in the gaming industry. Rockstar's own parent company Take-Two indicated that it may look to the possibility of integrating NFTs into its ecosystem. More recently, even game publishers Square Enix and Ubisoft invested in blockchain gaming. Of course, not every industry player shares the same optimism with the likes of Mojang Studios outright rejecting support for NFTs or blockchain technologies. Regardless, the Rockstar Games co-founder's investment in Revolving Games would likely serve to build enthusiasm over blockchain's potential in the gaming arena. How far that enthusiasm will push the industry, time will tell.
Source: VGC