Eyeball Games raises $1.5 million for a blockchain pool game

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Eyeball Games has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to develop its next mobile game, Eyeball Pool.

Singapore-based Eyeball Games said the funding round was led by White Star Capital, which invested from its Ubisoft-backed digital asset fund, and included participation from Polygon Ventures, Immutable, Ocular, Great South Gate Ventures and prominent angel investors.

Eyeball Pool is a modernized pool game experience that incorporates Web3 elements to enhance user experience, including full ownership of assets. The game is from the creators of 8 Ball Pool, the world's most popular pool game for mobile devices with over 1 billion downloads.

Eyeball Games plans to release Eyeball Pool in phases, beginning with a web-based closed beta test exclusively for holders of the game's non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Hit the ball in Eyeball Pool.

The game will first launch on the Polygon x Immutable zkEVM channel, a platform made specifically for gaming, where it will be one of the first projects featured. Eyeball Pool successfully completed a 30-minute sellout of 4,001 genesis NFTs called Balldroids in January 2023, but those who missed out will get another chance. A whitelist for the extended NFT Eyeball Pool series will open soon.

"We are delighted to have secured the backing of prestigious investors for our first round of funding. We look forward to leveraging their knowledge and support to create a world-class game that gives players true ownership of their assets and pioneers a new approach to rating creation," said Jonathan Ivarsson, CEO of Eyeball Games, in a statement.

White Star Capital General Partner Eddie Lee said in a statement, "We believe Web3 has so much potential to enhance the gaming experience beyond what is possible today. We are thrilled to partner with the Eyeball team and create a game that will be enjoyed by millions one day."

The original creators of 8 Ball Pool are Karsten Niemer and Thomas Elgaard and they worked with Jonathan Ivarsson, founder of Eyeball Games on the new game. The team came together on a vision for a blockchain-based challenger for 8 Ball Pool that gives players full ownership of their assets as part of cutting-edge gameplay.

Hoping to repeat their billiards success ten years ago, Eyeball Games has completely designed Eyeball Pool with its own physics engine and graphics. It has a player versus player mode and a range of tournament modes which include an AI skill matching engine.

Eyeball Games has 13 employees and the new entity was founded in July 2022.