<p><span data-contrast="auto">Limit Break, a startup building web3 massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, raised $200 million over two rounds of venture funding. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">The chair of mobile gaming firm Mino Games, Josh Buckley and investment firms Paradigm and Standard Crypto led the rounds, Limit Break wrote in a Twitter </span><a href="https://twitter.com/limitbreak/status/1564240941690798081"><span data-contrast="none">thread</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">. Additional participants include FTX, Coinbase and Positive Sum. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Limit Break intends to incorporate web3 elements into the “free-to-play” gaming model. Free-to-play games are free upfront to play, and developers make money through ads or selling additional features for the game. </span>The firm’s take on free-to-play is what they call “free-to-own,” in which users mint genesis non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for free. “These Genesis NFTs lead to other NFTs through airdrops and more, none of which involve gimmicky fundraising tactics,” Limit Break wrote. </p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Limit Break’s financing comes amid the broader crypto </span><a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/146566/nft-bayc-crypto-markets-prices-ethereum-solana-cryptopunks-terra-luna"><span data-contrast="none">bear market</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> and illustrate the growing interest in blockchain-based mobile games. In July, </span>NFTs/gaming were the most favored deal types for the twelfth consecutive month, getting about $500 million in funding, the second most in the sector after infrastructure, <a href="https://www.theblockresearch.com/july-blockchain-funding-recap-162196">according to The Block Research</a>.</p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">The startup was founded by Gabriel Leydon and Halbert Nakagawa, former CEO and CTO, respectively, of the mobile gaming firm Machine Zone, which built mobile free-to-play games including Game of War, Mobile Strike and Final Fantasy: XV. </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Other blockchain-based mobile gaming firms to raise money this year include </span><a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/162166/metaversego-raises-4-2-million-in-seed-funding-round"><span data-contrast="none">MetaverseGo</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> and </span><a href="https://www.theblock.co/linked/147673/blockchain-gaming-startup-n3twork-studios-raised-46-million-in-series-a-funding"><span data-contrast="none">N3TWORK Studios</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">, </span><a href="https://www.theblock.co/linked/145161/blockchain-gaming-startup-infinigods-raises-9-million-in-round-led-by-pantera"><span data-contrast="none">InfiniGods</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> and others, The Block previously reported. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> </span></p><br /><span class="copyright"><p>© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</p> </span>