Arbitrum’s 200 million ARB Gaming Catalyst Program, now rebranded to Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, has announced its first $10 million cohort of investments and grants.

Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, the initiative launched earlier in 2024 to support game projects building on Arbitrum, has announced its first five investments and grants.

Backed by VCs including Paradigm, Framework, and Bitkraft, Arbitrum Gaming Ventures was approved in June, with the aim of boosting the network’s image and attracting more game projects.

Coming under scrutiny in 2024, with calls to completely shut it down in 2025, the initiative has now revealed the first five projects.

These include direct investments in three companies, as well as grants for two more. The chosen projects span across game development, publishing platforms, and game infrastructure.

Notably, the seven-eighths of the chosen projects are not smaller startups, but rather established games and platforms.

“Arbitrum Gaming Ventures is backing proven founders who aren’t just making games – they’re helping create an even more vibrant Arbitrum ecosystem,” said Arbitrum Gaming Ventures partner Rick Johanson.

One of the more surprising games to gain funding is Wildcard from Paul Bettner’s Playful Studios. A web2 card collecting MOBA that will launch via Steam and other traditional game platforms, Wildcard’s inaugural NFTs were minted on Ethereum.

“We're huge fans of the Arbitrum community and believe in its potential to host the next generation of game worlds. When we looked toward the future, Arbitrum stood out as the best platform for our game(s). Aside from the obvious technical advantages, we’re excited to have support from Arbitrum Gaming Ventures as we bring Wildcard – and our other projects – to Arbitrum,” commented Playful’s Katy Drake Bettner.

Those other projects include Playful’s native web3 streaming platform Thousands, which is also bringing its associated projects including the WC token to Arbitrum.

The remaining four companies gaining funding were: