Former Blizzard Developers' Studio Frost Giant Secures Nearly $1 Million in Funding from Players

The concept of crowdfunding is familiar to many, with numerous successful Kickstarter campaigns bringing games to market over the past decade. However, equity crowdfunding is less common. Frost Giant Studios launched a campaign on StartEngine, allowing players to purchase shares in the company and potentially share in its long-term success. The campaign aims to raise between $15,000 and $5 million, with nearly $1 million already secured. According to CEO Tim Morten, equity crowdfunding enables the studio to self-publish its debut game, Stormgate, a free-to-play real-time strategy title. Morten explains that developing and publishing are distinct activities, with development involving a team of developers, engineers, designers, artists, and producers, while publishing is a marketing activity. Frost Giant was formed by former Blizzard developers, including Morten and Tim Campbell, who gathered a core team to work on their own SnowPlay technology and a game to be built upon it. The studio has secured $34.7 million in Seed and Series A funding from investors such as Riot Games, Bitkraft, and Kakao Games. Additionally, a Kickstarter campaign for Stormgate raised $2.4 million from over 28,000 backers. Morten believes that the funding landscape is challenging, but he is confident that things will turn around. The studio is focused on developing Stormgate, which will be a free-to-play title with an emphasis on approachability and teamwork. The game will feature a tutorial system, allowing new players to join experienced friends and have a social experience. Morten adds that the studio has experience with free-to-play games, having been involved in the transition of StarCraft II from premium to free-to-play in 2017. The StarCraft transition taught the team that players enjoy continuing the campaign, new heroes for co-op mode, and cosmetics. Stormgate is expected to launch in Early Access this summer, with no specific roadmap for the full launch. However, Morten cites the success of Baldur's Gate 3 as an example of a well-executed early access program.