Neon Machine’s Shooter Shrapnel Secures $19.5M for Global Expansion
Neon Machine, the studio behind the highly-anticipated blockchain FPS game Shrapnel, has successfully raised $19.5 million in funding. This significant investment, led by Gala Games, will fuel the game's global launch and facilitate its strategic entry into the Chinese market. This move includes a full migration to GalaChain, with a localized version of the game expected to launch in China in 2025.
This funding demonstrates strong confidence in the potential of Shrapnel, which aims to deliver an action-packed shooter experience centered on digital ownership. The new capital will accelerate the game's worldwide rollout, with a closed release in China planned for late 2025 and a full launch in early 2026.
The Strategic Move to GalaChain and a Major Push into China
As part of this expansion, Shrapnel is officially joining the Gala Games ecosystem. Gala is a prominent player in the web3 gaming space, known for its focus on player-owned economies. This transition to GalaChain marks a pivotal new phase for Neon Machine, aligning the project with Gala's "player-first, community-driven approach."
A key aspect of this deal is Shrapnel's approved entry into China, one of the world's largest gaming markets. The game has become the first foreign web3 title to be licensed on China's Trusted Copyright Chain (TCC), a government-backed blockchain. This groundbreaking move is expected to connect Shrapnel to a massive audience of over 600 million players and allow for the legal ownership and trading of in-game assets under Chinese law. This is a significant milestone for web3 gaming, as it provides a compliant solution for high-quality content to enter a historically difficult market.
To support this localization, Neon Machine has partnered with Lingjing Game Labs, the digital division of People's Daily, which will manage local distribution, asset minting, marketplace moderation, and legal compliance.
What is Shrapnel? A Premier Web3 Shooter
Shrapnel is a first-person extraction shooter designed for both competitive team-based play and solo action. The game immerses players in a high-stakes environment called The Sacrifice Zone, where they must collect a powerful material called Sigma. The core loop involves strategic gameplay to gather loot and successfully extract it before being eliminated by other players. For gamers interested in finding out more about this dynamic title, you can find the game on gamesfy.com to discover more details, user reviews, and other similar titles.
The game's design is built around the concept of true digital ownership, allowing players to buy, sell, and trade in-game items such as weapon skins and gear using blockchain technology. These assets can be tokenized and stored on-chain, providing a new level of permanence and value. During a 27-day paid early access period, Shrapnel players completed over 3.7 million matches, showcasing strong early engagement. The game is currently in early access via the Epic Games Store, with public playtests set to resume soon as the team prepares for a full global release.