I’m a child raised by RPG’s: Role-playing games like Baldur’s Gate and Elder Scrolls inspired my first heroic explorations, taught me to choose good over evil, and bestowed the power to construct new worlds with my friends. From multi-year tabletop Dungeons & Dragons campaigns to building text-based multiplayer RPG’s (MUDs), RPG’s are at the core of my “gaming DNA.”

 

My first love: building text-based MMORPG’s or MUD’s. Also known as glorified speed typing.

 

RPG’s dominate the $200B+ mobile gaming industry: RPG’s are the highest-earning mobile gaming genre, accounting for 30% of mobile gaming revenues and 10% of downloads. Games like Genshin Impact have broken records in recent years to become the fastest mobile game to reach $5 billion in revenue, outpacing top games like Pokemon Go and Clash of Clans by 1-2 years.

 

A new era of gaming is here: The world is ready for role-playing games that are built on deep storytelling, mobile-native combat, immersive economies, and the latest advances in blockchain, generative AI, and mobile technology. That’s why I’m incredibly excited to partner with Azra Games founder, Mark Otero – a master craftsman and legendary RPG builder – and the legendary Azra team, as we embark on a quest to create the next generation of mobile RPG’s.

 

THE NEXT GENERATION OF GAMING

How the cycle turns: Gaming is a cyclical business, yet gamers never stop playing games. So what drives a new cycle of gaming? 

 

New waves of gaming innovation happen when certain trends converge: technology advancements (faster hardware / networks), distribution channels (arcades to home PC’s), and business models (digital subscriptions to free-to-play). As Feargus Urquhart, founder of Obsidian Entertainment, once observed: “Making games is like shooting movies, if you had to build an entirely new camera every time you started.” 

 

Mobile RPG’s have evolved rapidly over the last decade, growing from simple text-based adventures into story-rich, high-fidelity worlds. Players have adjusted their expectations towards more immersive, rewarding experiences and instantly-engaging gameplay. The challenge to retain players and sustain their long-term engagement is harder than ever.

At empire’s peak, the challenger rises: It’s harder than ever to build a sustainable game from scratch. Attracting player attention is a hyper-competitive, expensive endeavor. Scopely spent ~$500 million on marketing and user acquisition for its Monopoly Go game – more than the entire budget for Cyberpunk 2077 AND its DLC expansion. Independent game creators have no choice but to give their economics away to publishers or submit to already-successful studios with low risk appetite or all of the above.

 

It’s clear that something’s gotta give. Mobile RPGs are ready for their next major transformation. The time is ripe to bring high-end PC-quality gaming experiences directly to players’ mobile devices and deliver to players: novel gameplay and storylines, open-world experiences with economic immersion, and new models for sustainable engagement.

 

 

WHY WE INVESTED

 

The first time I met Mark IRL, he handed me an ASUS ROG Ally in the middle of a happy hour. The Project Legends demo dropped me into a dark fantasy world, battling monsters with three epic heroes. Fifteen minutes and one boss battle later, my heart was pounding and a group had formed around us, eager to play.

 

The revolution begins: Azra Games aims to define a new generation of mobile RPG’s through open-world exploration, immersive economies, visceral combat, and rich storylines. The goal is to bring gamers true console & PC-quality RPG experiences on their mobile devices, starting with Azra’s flagship title, codenamed Project Legends.

 

Here’s why we believe they can do it:

•  
• A championship team: Azra is led by Mark Otero, a grandmaster of building RPG’s. Mark has built eight RPG titles including Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, one of the top-grossing mobile games ever, generating $1.5 billion to date. He co-founded KlickNation in 2008, publishing multiple successful games for browser and Facebook, before being acquired by Electronic Arts. Travis Boudreaux, Co-founder & CTO, is a veteran engineering leader with experience scaling to millions of users and $1B+ in marketplace volume.
  
  The Azra team is stacked with a rare talent density. Many have worked with Mark on 2+ games together. They know what it takes to achieve miracles, as all great games must. And it’s crystal clear that they’re playing for the Super Bowl.

•  

• Breakthrough in game building: Azra has made deep investments in their platform, tools, and technology, including AI-powered tools that dramatically reduce production times. What once took 30 man-days can now take 15 minutes. This allows the team to focus on delivering breathtaking environments, complex gameplay systems, and immersive storylines, all optimized for mobile devices.
  
  “The biggest differentiator between a studio that creates a really high-quality game and a studio that doesn’t isn’t the quality of the team. It’s their dev tools. If you can take fifty shots on goal, and you’re a pretty shitty hockey player, and I can only take three shots on goal and I’m Wayne fucking Gretzky, you’re probably going to do better.” (Blood, Sweat, and Pixels)

•  
• A sustainable vision: Azra’s style of RPG is filled with characters and collectibles. This makes it particularly well-suited to open marketplaces where players can craft, collect, and trade seamlessly with one another. Mark and team are hyper-focused on a sustainable Web3 roadmap for Azra. Step 1: Build one of the greatest RPG games in the world. From there, they’ll progressively integrate blockchain features to create a truly immersive open-world economy for the Azra universe.

 

Some of my favorite RPG memories were made sitting in front of the WoW Auction House in Orgrimmar and hawking rare items in MapleStory. The “digital merchant” class is alive and well (and lucrative) in today’s RPGs. Soon they’ll be unleashed in completely new and interesting ways through blockchain-powered markets. I’m excited to work with the Azra team in navigating the future of Web3 gaming.

 

 

PARTNERING WITH AZRA GAMES

I’m thrilled to partner with Mark, Travis, and the Azra Games team to lead their Series A funding round. I’ll also officially join Azra’s board of directors.

Our quest to build the next generation of mobile RPG’s is just beginning. If you’re interested in joining the party, the Azra team is actively hiring.