NPC Labs Raises $18M to Revolutionize GameFi on Base Network

NPC Labs has successfully completed an $18 million funding round, led by Pantera Capital, to scale up their GameFi initiatives on the Base protocol. This latest investment boosts the company’s total funding to $21 million, with contributions from Makers Fund, Hashed, Collab+Currency, Sfermion, Mirana Ventures, Bitscale Capital, and Mantle EcoFund. 

The funds are earmarked for developing B3.fun, a new ecosystem aimed at creating Web3 games on the Base network. This initiative reflects NPC Labs’ ambition to transform the gaming experience by integrating blockchain technology more seamlessly into games, making them accessible to a broader audience beyond the typical crypto-enthusiasts. 

Daryl Xu, co-founder of NPC Labs, shared insights on the company’s strategy to democratize GameFi products. He stated that the company’s focus is to simplify gaming apps and bring the next billion users to the lab. The co-founder mentioned that the non-users are interested in wallets and liquidity pools, rather, just gaming experiences. 

As part of their strategy to attract non-crypto native players, NPC Labs is developing Basement.fun, a discovery portal that Xu describes as similar to early internet game sites like Miniclip or Addicting Games. This platform will allow users to easily explore and play games without navigating the typical barriers associated with blockchain and crypto technologies. 

Currently, the B3 ecosystem is running on a testnet and supports gaming applications developed on Ethereum, Base, and other EVM-compatible chains. This testing phase is crucial as it helps refine the user experience and verify that the ecosystem can support a wide range of blockchain-based games. With this round of funding, NPC Labs is well-positioned to advance in making blockchain-based gaming more accessible and enjoyable, aiming to capture a significant share of the growing GameFi market.

Recently, Base network reached a major milestone in the Ethereum layer-2 sector, claiming the leading spot in active addresses for April and May. Demonstrating remarkable expansion, Base registered more than 1.48 million new active addresses in just the first nine days of April.