Dubai start-up Rekt Studios raises $1.5m as it plans to launch its first gaming metaverse

Funding round was backed by blockchain and Web3 venture capital firm Cypher Capital

Dubai unveiled its Metaverse Strategy in July, an initiative that aims to create 40,000 jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's economy in the next five years. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dubai-based technology start-up Rekt Studios has raised $1.5 million in a new funding round from blockchain and Web3 venture capital firm Cypher Capital, as the start-up aims to launch its first gaming metaverse.

Called Unseen, the project will allow producers to create games, experiences, metaverse buildings and digital assets, the company said on Thursday.

“The new funding will not only enable further game development but will also fuel expansion and the studio’s marketing efforts,” said Bill Qian, a board member at Rekt Studio.

“Our immediate goal is to provide the Middle East with a distinct and accessible gaming ecosystem, while also establishing the region as the most prominent space for abundant opportunities in this space.”

Founded last year, Rekt Studios specialises in using blockchain and emerging technology to create new products and provide consulting and implementation services.

It focuses on creating immersive and interactive Web3 games, experiences and virtual environments.

Unseen is an “immersive fully interoperable decentralised virtual ecosystem” that will be centred on gaming, entertainment, and real-world utility.

The ecosystem will also offer opportunities for users to invest, create, sell and buy digital assets and experiences, the company said.

The metaverse is the emerging space where people, represented by avatars or 3D representations, can interact in virtual worlds. It is part of Web3, the next evolutionary step of the internet, with blockchain, decentralisation, openness and greater user utility among its core components.

Dubai and other emirates have taken several steps to integrate the metaverse into the UAE's economy and society.

In July, the emirate's government unveiled the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to create 40,000 jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's economy in the next five years.

“Rekt Studios’ upcoming value-driven ecosystem Unseen showcases the maturity of the industry and its limitless potential,” said Bijan Alizadeh, co-founder and partner at Cypher Capital.

“We are very excited to be investing in this project and cannot wait to see what the future holds for Rekt Studios, within both the business as well as the immersive world that they are building.

"Unseen’s proprietary virtual economy that leverages emerging technologies and integrates them at the core of human interactions is unprecedented.”