NDUS Interactive announced Thursday that it has raised $7.5 million in pre-Series A funding to bring third-person shooter game Xociety to life on the Sui blockchain.
The funding round was led by Hashed and the Sui Foundation, with additional investment from Spartan, Neoclassic, Big Brain Holdings, and PUBG game publisher Krafton.
"We are focusing on creating a sustainable player engagement model, moving away from the short-lived earning models seen in some Web3 games," said NDUS founder Jeffry Kim, in a release. "This investment will help us blend the best aspects of traditional gaming with the possibilities of Web3."
Xociety introduces features such as an in-game corporation system that allows players to own shares and manage economic entities within the game world. It combines role-playing and first-person shooter elements with a new reward structure that’s built around skill.
A recent beta test for Xociety accrued over 3,000 users from 76 countries, who played for over 11,000 hours in total with 77% staying engaged for over a week. The game is being developed by industry veterans such as Myoungjin Lee, known for Ragnarok, and Sang Chung, former Head of PlayDapp.
A Sui representative confirmed to Decrypt’s GG that the game is set to launch later this year, but that the next play-to-mint event is currently set for July. A previous play-to-mint event in January and February let users earn token rewards and access to NFT mint allowlists.
Xociety has already minted player-owned in-game avatars on the Ethereum blockchain, but NDUS announced in April that it would ultimately launch the game on Sui.
Editor’s note: This article was written with the assistance of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.