Independent Multi-Gameplay Games

Gardens, a fully-remote game studio founded by former developers of Journey, Blaseball, and What Remains of Edith Finch, has raised $31.3 million in Series A funding to develop its ambitious multiplayer ARPG. The investment round was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Krafton, and attracted participation from other prominent industry figures and companies such as Dreamhaven, Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell, Valorant co-creator Stephen Lim, and World of Warcraft’s VP of development Seth Sivak. Gardens plans to use the capital to expand its team and support its staff as it works to fully realize its vision for its debut project.

The game, which has not been officially named yet, is described as an "ever-evolving online PvPvE fantasy adventure sandbox ARPG" that builds upon some of the multiplayer concepts featured in previous titles the founders have worked on such as Journey and Sky: Children of the Light. The game will feature a gorgeous fantasy wilderness filled with other adventurers, magical creatures, and a charming landscape to explore. The multiplayer co-op elements will emphasize tactile interactions between players as they collaborate to navigate the world, solve puzzles and awaken dormant magic, like riding atop a friend’s shoulders to fetch fruit from a tree, leaping across a chasm into the arms of a stranger, tugging armor off a giant monster together, or joining forces to cast a magic spell.

The game will also include PvP and conflict elements that can encourage friendship and dialogue in interesting and subversive ways. The game is expected to offer new experiences every time players play, growing and evolving for years to come.