Community Gaming has closed a $16 million Series A funding round led by SoftBank Group’s SB Opportunity Fund. The funding will help drive the company’s expansion into Latin America and Southeast Asia.
SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate, launched the $5 billion fund in 2019 In September, a $3 billion follow-up fund launched.
“North America will still be our biggest market,” Chris Gonsalves, CEO of Community Gaming, told CoinDesk in an interview. “But we’re seeing the most organic growth in Latin America.”
Other participants included Binance Labs and BITKRAFT Ventures as well as CoinFund and Griffin Gaming Partners.
Later this quarter, Community Gaming will launch a “Quests” feature that rewards users for time spent on the platform rather than just paying the top winners of an esports tournament. It’s a variation on this season’s “play-to-earn” trend.
“You could think of it like a loyalty system or a retention system where you’ll be able to complete quests every single day that earn you small amounts of money,” said Gonsalves, describing the new model.
