Azra Games has defied the funding gods and raised $42.7 million in funding to accelerate development of its Project Legends mobile role-playing game.
The Web3-based game has been in the works roughly since Mark Otero, CEO and a veteran entrepreneur, founded the company in January 2022.
In interview with GamesBeat, Otero said the company’s energies in creating its RPG are focused on providing thrilling gameplay, visceral combat, and immersive storylines.
As for Web3, Otero said, “Our philosophy in 2022 was to build a great game first. Build one of the greatest RPG games in the world. Because that’s the way the game can sustain itself. Once we accomplish that, we can then expand out and utilize behind the scenes the digital technologies, including Web3, to enhance the player experience. But first and foremost, you’ve got to build a great game and then start free to play, and then give people the option to get a Web3 wallet and take advantage of the Web3 features.”
He said he believes the company has developed a novel approach to a new business model that requires free-to-play gaming.
“We can’t announce any of our partners right now,” he said. “This game is a dark fantasy, and it’s a mirror of our current times, where the player can light the world in an otherwise dark world. That’s Project Legends.”
Pantera Capital (led by Franklin Bi) led the investment round, with participation from A16z crypto (Arianna Simpson), A16z GAMES (Jonathan Lai), and NFX (Gigi Levy-Weiss). This brings Azra’s total funding to date to $68.3 million. That’s pretty astounding given the though investment climate for all game companies.
The funding will be instrumental in accelerating the growth of Azra Games and advancing its various projects that are currently in development, including its flagship ground-breaking game, currently code-named “Project Legends.” The funding underscores investors’ confidence in Azra Games’ vision and potential to revolutionize the mobile RPG genre across all platforms, paving the way for the future.
Otero was known for starting Capital Games, which was acquired by Electronic Arts. Capital Games created the top-grossing Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes mobile game (Otero’s 8th RPG). That game has generated more than a billion in revenue for EA.
Otero said the vast potential of mobile RPGs delivers impressive margins and accounts for one-third of total mobile games revenue. These games have evolved through several generational cycles and are now poised for the most significant paradigm shift in their history.
“We aim to define what I call the 4th generation of mobile RPGs. The first generation emerged with mobile app stores, characterized by text-based RPGs with 2D graphics constrained by limited memory and weak processors,” said Otero. “The second generation saw enhancements in UI, richer icons, and auto battles with basic animations. The third capitalized on advanced smartphone technology, offering 3D graphics, interactive turn-based battles, and more sophisticated controls.”
Otero added, “I believe the 4th generation of mobile RPGs is competing with PC and console RPGs, featuring open worlds, over-the-shoulder camera perspectives, real-time battles, and extended PvE campaigns. It signifies a significant paradigm shift in mobile gaming. With our expanding expert team and robust funding, we are excited to bring Western gamers true console/PC-quality PRG experiences on their mobile devices.”
A big round
For investors, Otero said he appreciated investors who participated in each round. And he focused on institutional funding through traditional VCs because it affords the company the best way to control its future, he said.
“And we’ve achieved that. So we have maintained our independence, and we own all the IP that we create,” he said.
In addition to mobile game projects, the $42.7 million funding will enable Azra Games to expand its global team, which has about 83 people. By the time the game ships, the company hopes to grow to more than 120 people, Otero said, with the goal of setting up a second team. You can see the openings here.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Azra Games to build a new generation of RPGs, built on deep storytelling, mobile-native combat, and immersive economies. Mark is the rare entrepreneur who has successfully navigated multiple industry shifts and built billion-dollar franchises in gaming,” said Franklin Bi, general partner at Pantera Capital, in a statement. “Today, Mark is building a truly special team at Azra to define a new standard for mobile roleplaying games, open-world economies, and player empowerment. I can’t wait for the world to see what’s coming and officially join the Azra universe.”
“The team at Azra Games has the incredible opportunity and vision to trailblaze the fourth generation of mobile RPG games that combines the creativity of new gaming formats and experiences with the digital ownership of blockchain,” said Arianna Simpson, general partner at A16z crypto, in a statement. “Mark has an incredible ability to bring out the best in his team, and we can’t wait to see Azra’s vision come to life over the coming months.”
Azra Games’ Project Legends channels the gritty, mature vibes of 1970s sword-and-sorcery fantasy art. Otero said the team is inspired by legendary artists like Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo, evoking the essence of Conan the Barbarian and Heavy Metal Magazine, making it a stark contrast to today’s anime-dominated RPG scene, with a strong appeal to the Western audience.
“We drew inspiration from a number of artists, which include Boris Vallejo and Frank Frazetta, and there was another one as well too. So it’s taken inspiration about what made each one of those artists’ artwork unique,” Otero said. “Like for Boris, it was beautiful, supple, female human bodies. With Frazetta, he captured the essence of the suppleness, but he positioned it more as like a dangerous posture. And so we wanted to take the essence of what these great artists were known for. And then translate create our own version of that for Project Legends.”
The game is a hybrid of free-to-play Web2 gameplay and blockchain-based Web3, with a focus on making sure the gameplay is great first, Otero said. Project Legends, which will get its official name soon, will come out in the third quarter of 2025.
An anomalous funding round
Otero acknowledged the round is an anomaly because, during 2023 and 2024, funding for prerevenue game companies has fallen dramatically.
“There’s an absence of funding for the most part, as a general theme, and there’s probably some outliers like us,” Otero said.
I asked if the company hit a big milestone that prompted the strong funding round.
“It’s a really good question. I answer a portion of it. I think what got investors really excited is really the team that we’re assembling and the progress that we’ve made with the game itself,” Otero said. “We’ve invented a what I consider a pretty unique combat system, and I think that’s really resonating, and it is evidence of the strength of the team and our vision.”
He noted the company started Azra Labs, which is led by the CTO and cofounder, Travis Boudreau, with a focus on making breakthroughs in games with smaller teams and high velocity.
“I think that really impressed the investors,” he said.
The road ahead
Otero said there are some announcements coming in the first quarter, with things like disclosures about partners and Web3 technology choices.
“All this is to say that for years, we’ve invested in a platform and the tools and the tech for building fourth generation collectible RPG games,” Otero said. “That’s our specialization. So we’ve built out the infrastructure where we can continue to make games that reduce costs and increase speed.”
For playtesting, Otero envisions putting the gameplay out for testing and then pulling it back, and doing that multiple times. After the launch, he also expects a lot of content to launch, as the company is going to be a free-to-play mobile game first. Then it will become a game-as-a-service and hopefully release on the PC and consoles as well.
“We’ll get all the KPIs right, we’ll get the gameplay right, build up the initial audience, and then we will port the game to multiple platforms,” Otero said.
The state of the game market
I asked about the times we’re living in.
Looking back at the 2008 and 2009 recession, he said it was during that “Great Recession” that he designed his first successful commercial game.
He said such times are tough for everyone, but they can also be a benefit for teams that have traction and can maintain that momentum.
“This market allows us to attract and recruit talent that would otherwise be more difficult in a different kind of market,” he said. “We’re certainly taking advantage of the reality to position ourselves and win.”
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