Journey designer's 'online PvPvE fantasy adventure sandbox ARPG' attracts big investors following secret prototype demo
A game studio called Gardens has just announced that it's raised $31.3 million in new funding off the back of a playable prototype shown privately at GDC earlier this year, and the list of investors is full of games biz establishment bigwigs. Among them are Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime's company, former Sony Computer Entertainment America president Jack Tretton, Valorant co-creator Stephen Lim, and the Nintendo heirs.
So, big interest, but what's the game? All we've seen so far is concept art, but we do have some details. Gardens was co-founded by Chris Bell, one of the designers of Journey and the lead designer of What Remains of Edith Finch, and the studio describes its first game as an «online PvPvE fantasy adventure sandbox ARPG.»
«It's a game inspired by our favorite memories playing online RPGs, MMOs, and fantasy action-adventure games over the years, memories of crossing paths with strangers,» says Bell. «The game builds upon multiplayer ideas and lessons from previous titles I helped design like Journey, Sky, and even my student game Way, while bringing players into a higher stakes, shapeshifting fantasy wilderness where cooperation is key, yet betrayal is still possible. We're including novel cooperative gameplay that rewards players who help each other, which can encourage friendship and dialogue with PvP and conflict in interesting and subversive ways.»
The two biggest Gardens investors are Lightspeed Venture Partners, a global tech investment firm, and Krafton, the South Korean owner of PUBG. Maria Park, VP and head of corporate development at Krafton, described Gardens' behind-closed-doors demo as «innovative and, above all, joyful.»
«The gorgeous fantasy wilderness is filled with other adventurers,
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