Gardens Interactive, a game development studio built by veterans who previously delivered acclaimed experiences such as Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Sky: Children of the Light, has announced the successful close of a Series B financing round that brings in more than $35 million. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, a well‑known early‑stage investor with a strong focus on interactive media and gaming. With this infusion of capital, the company’s cumulative funding now exceeds $70 million, providing a solid financial foundation for its ambitious plans.
The financing round attracted a roster of high‑profile venture firms, including Zenith Capital, Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Innovation Endeavours, and Bayshore. In addition to institutional backers, a group of notable individual investors also participated. Among them are Stewart Butterfield, the co‑founder and former chief executive officer of Slack, who has a reputation for building collaborative platforms; Andy Zhong, the founder and chief executive officer of the mobile gaming powerhouse FunPlus; and Thomas Dimson, a co‑creator of OpenAI’s groundbreaking visual model Sora. Their involvement underscores the broad appeal of Gardens Interactive’s vision across both gaming and technology sectors.
Strategic appointments accompanied the funding. Moritz Baier‑Lentz, who heads the gaming and interactive media practice at Lightspeed Venture Partners, has taken on an advisory role with Gardens Interactive, offering guidance on product strategy and market positioning. Former TikTok chief operating officer V. Pappas will act as Lightspeed’s representative on the company’s board of directors, bringing deep expertise in scaling consumer‑facing platforms and community engagement.
From the Korean side, Mike Hong, director of investments and business analysis at Krafton, will sit on the board as Krafton’s delegate. Hong replaces Maria Park, Krafton’s head of corporate development, who will continue to support Gardens Interactive as an independent advisor, ensuring continuity of the partnership with one of the region’s most successful game publishers. Gardens Interactive is currently channeling its resources into its first original title, presently referred to as Project Gardens. The game is being positioned as a multiplayer "shared fantasy adventure" that integrates robust social role‑play mechanics.
According to CEO Stephen Bell, the concept of social role‑play is about handing players the tools to become the driving force behind each other's experiences—enabling them to express themselves, forge deep connections, and collectively shape a living world. Bell emphasized that the new capital will allow the studio to deliver a product of the intended scale, maintain it over the long term, and evolve it with ongoing content updates. "Social role‑play means empowering players to be the engines of one another's adventures, to give them the tools to express themselves, connect and communicate – to invite them to forge lasting relationships, landmark memories, and to transform the world together," Bell explained.
"We're proud to also unite this incredible group of investors." The funding, Bell added, gives Gardens Interactive the runway to "ship a game of this scale properly, and to keep it alive and evolving for years to come." He articulated a broader ambition: to position Gardens as the global leader in what he calls "prestige social entertainment," a niche that blends high‑production‑value experiences with deep, player‑driven world‑building. Bell noted that the market for such experiences remains largely untapped, and that the backing from both seasoned gaming investors and technology entrepreneurs validates the studio's belief that there is a substantial audience hungry for socially rich, role‑play‑centric games. Beyond the immediate financial boost, the round signals a growing confidence among venture capitalists in the potential of socially oriented multiplayer games to generate sustained engagement and revenue.
Investors like Sequoia and Accel have historically backed companies that create network effects, and their participation suggests they see Gardens Interactive's model—where player interaction is a core gameplay pillar—as a long‑term growth engine. The involvement of Krafton, a major player in the Asian gaming market best known for titles such as PUBG, also opens doors for Gardens Interactive to access distribution channels and expertise in live‑service operations. Mike Hong’s board seat will likely facilitate knowledge transfer around community management, monetization strategies, and regional market adaptation, all of which are critical for a game that aims to thrive on continuous player interaction.
Project Gardens itself is being designed as a sandbox‑style adventure where participants can co‑create narratives, build structures, and embark on quests together. The developers have hinted at a flexible progression system that rewards both individual achievement and collaborative milestones.
By allowing players to customize avatars, craft unique items, and influence the environment, the studio hopes to foster a sense of ownership that keeps users returning over months and years. In summary, Gardens Interactive’s successful Series B round not only provides the financial muscle needed to bring Project Gardens to market, but also assembles a coalition of advisors and investors whose expertise spans gaming, social platforms, and venture capital. With more than $70 million now in its treasury, the studio is poised to deliver a pioneering social role‑play experience that could redefine how multiplayer games blend storytelling, community, and ongoing content evolution. The company’s leadership remains confident that, with the support of its new partners, Gardens Interactive will become a benchmark for prestige social entertainment and set a new standard for player‑driven worlds.