Community Gaming Raises $16M in SoftBank-Led Round to Expand Crypto Esports

Community Gaming has closed a $16 million Series A funding round led by SoftBank Group’s SB Opportunity Fund. The funding will help drive the company’s expansion into Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank launched the $5 billion fund in 2019. A $3 billion follow-up fund was launched in September.

“North America will still be our biggest market,” Chris Gonsalves, CEO of Community Gaming, told CoinDesk in an interview. “But we’re seeing the most organic growth in Latin America.”

Community Gaming is a platform that lets gamers create their own esports tournaments and gaming competitions for any game they like. Web 3 is baked into the equation through blockchain-based sign-ups and instant payments. Earlier this year, the Community Gaming platform reached 100,000 unique registered users, the company said.

Other participants in the funding round included Animoca Brands, Binance Labs, BITKRAFT Ventures, Griffin Gaming Partners and CoinFund, among others.

Read more: CoinFund Leads $2.3M Investment in Esports Startup Trying to Bring Crypto to Gamers

Later this quarter, Community Gaming will launch a “Quests” feature that rewards users for time spent on the platform rather than just paying the top winners of an esports tournament. It’s a variation on this season’s “play-to-earn” trend.

“You could think of it like a loyalty system or a retention system where you’ll be able to complete quests every single day that earn you small amounts of money,” said Gonsalves, describing the new model.