'Clash of Clans' Maker Supercell Invests in Crypto Gaming Startup

Mobile giant Supercell, the company behind the smash mobile games Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, has invested in crypto gaming startup Games for a Living as part of a wider $3.2 million seed funding round.

Games for a Living (GFAL) was co-founded by Trip Hawkins, the original founder and CEO of video game titan Electronic Arts (EA). Acting as chief strategy officer, the startup company is developing games based around NFTs and crypto tokens.

With the fresh injection of capital, the startup plans to expand its core team and accelerate its production plans. This comes after the launch of its GFAL token sale, which brought in $4.4 million in capital last year. According to CoinGecko, the price of the GFAL token is up 235% since March 2023, though it has a relatively low market cap at $42 million, making it the 748th most valuable cryptocurrency on the market as of this writing.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working together with the team earlier in my career.” Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen said, in a release. “We are excited to be part of their journey and see all the great things they’ll achieve.”

Alongside Supercell, this latest round of funding saw investment from former gaming entrepreneur and video game executive Mitch Lasky, as well as the former co-managing director of esports tournament operator ESL, Heinrich Zetlmayer.

“GFAL has really blossomed in the last year,” Hawkins said in a release. “I have incredible respect for Ilkka, Mitch, Heinrich, and our team, and this investment proudly gives us a clear imprimatur. We are excited about the coming year and have the resources to deliver and continue our growth.”

Last year, the startup soft-launched the game Elemental Raiders, only releasing it in limited parts of the world amid ongoing development. The studio claims in the funding announcement that the game has seen “steady improvement” in performance and metrics since March 2023.

Edited by Andrew Hayward