Nov 28, 2023

The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The company intends to use the funds for the enhancement of it and its integration within the Bitcoin ecosystem, as the project gears up for a token launch and full game release earlier next year. Led by Ilman Shazhaev, Founder and CEO, Farcana is advancing an upcoming free-to-play team based, ability, tactical shooter game built on Unreal Engine 5. With its focus on 4v4 gameplay, character abilities, and a Bitcoin prize system, it combines tactical gameplay and strategic decision-making above all else. The first playtest took part in June 2023, and almost 30,000 people created on-chain Farcana accounts to take part. Currently it is on its second open playtests run, which is taking place during November and December of 2023. FinSMEs ​ 27 November 2023 –  Farcana , a gaming startup based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has secured strategic investment from  Animoca Brands , the company advancing digital property rights for gaming and the metaverse, to fuel Farcana’s beta launch and development within the Bitcoin Ecosystem. Built with Unreal Engine 5, Farcana is a team arena third person shooter that offers competitive tournaments backed by permanent Bitcoin prize pools and will be one of the first AAA Web3 games to introduce its “Free Mint” Bitcoin ordinals. The game has attracted over 40,000 users and is planning new tournaments based on initial playtests in Dubai. The majority of the new capital will be used for the enhancement of Farcana and its integration within the Bitcoin ecosystem, as the project gears up for a token launch and full game release earlier next year. Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based Web3 industry leader, has been  collaborating with Farcana on tokenomics  and go-to-market strategy since Q2 2023. With the investment announced today Animoca Brands maintains its strong level of activity in the MENA region, following the Web3 leader’s recently announced  strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia’s NEOM . Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, praised Farcana’s progress and commented: “We have been working with Farcana over the past year and we’ve been impressed with the development and traction it’s received so far. Our strategic investment into Farcana is part of the vision of Animoca Brands to drive Web3 development in MENA; the region is rapidly modernizing and adopting emerging technologies, and we’re excited to support partners such as Farcana as they actively lead the sector and bring exciting products to market.” Ilman Shazhaev, founder and CEO of Farcana, shared his impressions about the strategic investment from Animoca Brands, stating: “We did amazing work with the Animoca Brands advisory team this year. With the redesign of our tokenomics, improvements within the in-game economy, documentation, and go-to-market strategy, we had tremendously productive team-to-team collaboration. Sometimes I would forget that we were working in different companies. This strategic investment from Animoca Brands is definitely a significant milestone for Farcana. During the bear market, we were fully focused on building and delivering one of the best games in web3, and we are incredibly excited to bring it to the market next year.” Earlier this month, Dubai’s Crown Prince HH Sheikh Hamdan launched the “Dubai Program for Gaming 2033” to focus on the areas of talent, content, and tech to strengthen the UAE and Dubai’s digital economy, Farcana views its own work and the involvement of prominent Web3 partners such as Animoca Brands as highly complementary to this bold vision. About Farcana Farcana is an upcoming free-to-play team based, ability, tactical shooter game built on Unreal Engine 5. With its focus on 4v4 gameplay, unique character abilities, and a Bitcoin prize system, Farcana promises an exhilarating experience for players, combining tactical gameplay and strategic decision-making above all else. The first playtest took part in June 2023, and almost 30,000 people created on-chain Farcana accounts to take part. Currently Farcana is on its second open playtests run, which is taking place during November and December of 2023. For more information visit  https://www.farcana.com . ​ About Animoca Brands Animoca Brands, a  Deloitte Tech Fast  winner, a  Fortune Crypto 40  company, and one of the Financial Times’  High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2023 , is a Web3 leader that leverages blockchain to deliver digital property rights to consumers around the world to help establish the open metaverse. The company develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including original games such as The Sandbox, PHANTOM GALAXIES™, Life Beyond, and Crazy Defense Heroes, and products utilizing popular intellectual properties from the worlds of sports and entertainment, such as The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Formula E. It has multiple subsidiaries, including  The Sandbox ,  Blowfish Studios ,  Quidd ,  GAMEE ,  nWay ,  Pixowl ,  Forj ,  Lympo ,  Animoca Brands Japan ,  Grease Monkey Games ,  Eden Games , Darewise Entertainment, Notre Game,  TinyTap ,  Be. ,  PIXELYNX ,  WePlay Media , and  Gryfyn . Animoca Brands is one of the most active investors in Web3, with a  portfolio of over 400 Web3 investments, both directly and through Animoca Ventures, including Yuga Labs, Axie Infinity, Polygon, Consensys, Fireblocks, OpenSea, Dapper Labs, Yield Guild Games, Alien Worlds, and many more. For more information visit  www.animocabrands.com  or follow on  X (Twitter)  or  Facebook .