Horizon Blockchain Games raises $5 million for its Ethereum-based trading card game

Development studio Horizon Blockchain Games has raised $5 million in new funding as it continues to work on its 'SkyWeaver' digital trading card game.

The funding was led by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's Initialized Capital, according to a blog post, with backing also coming from Polychain Capital, ConsenSys, Golden Ventures, Digital Currency Group, CMT Digital, and Regah Ventures. According to TechCrunch, the $5 million is an extension of a $3.75 million seed round Horizon raised last year.

Amid the fundraising, Horizon has been pushing ahead with the closed beta test of SkyWeaver, a trading card game in the spirit of Magic the Gathering Arena and Hearthstone but built on top of the Ethereum blockchain network 

Card ownership and gameplay are tracked by Ethereum transactions, though in the case of the closed beta, the game utilizes the Rinkeby test network. Players can earn cards through gameplay or trading, and they are represented on the network by tokens that use the ERC-1155 standard. The underlying concept of this approach is that cards remain in possession of players via their wallets, opening the door to their use in other game formats.

"With 12,000 playtesters, and 90,000+ more players awaiting access, we already have a wonderful community that we're extremely grateful for. We've been balancing the game, making tons of UI and UX improvements based on user feedback, and have been testing our Marketplace," the firm said in its blog post.

Horizon is planning to launch an open beta for SkyWeaver later this year.

Image via SkyWeaver/Horizon Blockchain Games website