Game Developer Moonray PBC Raises $3.5 Million, Aims to Bring NFT and Blockchain Gaming to Bitcoin

On December 14, Moonray PBC, the developer behind the multiplayer action-role-playing game (RPG) Moonray, announced that the project has raised $3.5 million from strategic investors. Moonray is considered the first metaverse and gaming non-fungible token (NFT) exchange built on the Bitcoin network via Stacks.

Moonray PBC Leverages Stacks to Build a Blockchain Game on Bitcoin, Project Raises $3.5 Million From Strategic Investors

Play-to-earn (P2E) games, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse have become very popular in recent times. There’s been a massive amount of funding directed at projects developing video games and new ventures being launched by big-name game makers. A report published in mid-November shows that game developers are starting to incorporate blockchain tech into games more frequently. On Tuesday, the startup Moonray PBC announced that the team has raised $3.5 million in a funding round led by Animoca Brands.

The funds will be dedicated toward scaling the Moonray multiplayer action-RPG, an NFT marketplace, and in-game economy. In addition to Animoca Brands, investors such as LD Capital, Lucid Blue Ventures, GBV Capital, and Metavest Capital joined the Moonray financing round. Unlike the myriad of blockchain games built on networks like Ethereum and Solana, Moonray is built using the Bitcoin (BTC) protocol through Stacks. “Stacks is an open-source blockchain network that leverages the security and capital of Bitcoin for decentralized apps and smart contracts,” the Stacks website explains.

According to Rodrigo Etcheto, CEO of Moonray PBC, bitcoin (BTC) will be an integral part of the Moonray gaming ecosystem, with the ability to earn bitcoin yield and Lightning Network integration. “Building a game in the metaverse is more than just putting something in VR or AR, there has to be an economy where players can have a real financial stake in the things they own,” Etcheto said in a statement on Tuesday. “Players have found roundabout ways to trade digital items in the past and we are trying to make it easier for players to exchange and sell items with one another.”

The Moonray PBC executive added:

When our marketplace is fully-operational we will feature Lightning Network integration, [bitcoin] payments, and NFTs that have the ability to earn [bitcoin] yield.

Moonray Plans to Launch in March 2022

The game Moonray and the Moonray NFT marketplace aim to launch with select players around March 2022, according to the funding announcement. The funding from Animoca Brands follows Animoca’s partnership with the popular NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). Animoca Brands and BAYC’s creators, Yuga Labs, plan to launch a play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain game based on BAYC NFTs next year as well. Yat Siu, the executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, believes blockchain games are transforming the industry and that Moonray will be part of the shift.

“Blockchain games are evolving rapidly. Moonray is at the vanguard of this change, building a far-future RPG experience that will be unlike anything that most players have ever seen on blockchain,” Siu opined in a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News. “We are very excited by the potential that Moonray is demonstrating as it builds this ambitious multiplayer AAA experience.”