Independent game developer CCP Games has raised $40 million in a funding round led by investment giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The new capital will help CCP Games build out its research and development team to drive the full-scale development of a new blockchain-based massively multiplayer online (MMO) game title set within Eve Online, the pioneering online game first released by the studio in 2003.

A16z announced its first gaming-specific fund in May 2022 with $600 million in committed capital. The firm is also one of the largest investors in the crypto industry, announcing its fourth crypto fund that same month with a $4.5 billion purse.

Iceland-based CCP, which was founded in 1997, said in an announcement post that the new game would leverage smart contract technology to create relationships between the virtual worlds and players. Other investors in the round included Makers Fund, BITKRAFT, Kingsway Capital, HASHED, and Nexon, among others.

“CCP Games is a pioneer in virtual worlds and digital economies with 25 years of experience creating living sandboxes with unparalleled depth,” said a16z general partner Jonathan Lai in the post. “They're a veteran team and we believe in their ambitious vision to deliver incredible player experiences at the intersection of best-in-class game design and blockchain technology.”