Key Notes
- Gardens Interactive has secured more than $35 million in a Lightspeed-led Series B to fund its debut game’s launch and live operations, with further investments still being finalized.
- The studio’s social sandbox draws on Journey and Sky experience, letting player actions leave consequences for others exploring its changing fantasy world.
- Applications are open for closed pre-alpha tests, while a public release date and supported platforms remain unannounced.
Gardens Interactive has secured more than $35 million in Series B funding to finish and support its debut social sandbox game. Led by Lightspeed, the round backs a studio co-founded by Journey and Sky: Children of the Light designer Chris Bell, whose next project centers on encounters with strangers in a changing fantasy world.
Bloomberg reported a $190 million pre-money valuation for the studio. That figure values the business before the new investment; it is separate from the money raised to develop and operate the game.
New Funding Covers Launch and Ongoing Operations
The studio’s October 7 announcement says the financing will support launch and live operations, meaning the continued running and development of the online game after release. Additional investments are being finalized on a rolling basis, with Gardens expecting to finish closing the round by the end of October.
Backers include Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors and Zenith Capital. Individual investors include Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield, FunPlus founder Andy Zhong and Sora co-creator Thomas Dimson. The returning investors include Yamauchi No.10, the investment office of Nintendo’s founding family.
The company’s press kit dates its founding to May 2021. Its three co-founders are CEO and narrative director Stephen Bell, creative director Chris Bell and Lexie Dostal, whose technical and design background includes co-creating Dustforce. The wider team brings experience from games including What Remains of Edith Finch, Blaseball and Guild Wars 2.
A Social Sandbox Where Actions Leave a Trace
Gardens calls its project a “strandbox”: a sandbox in which player choices can leave consequences for people who pass through later. Chris Bell cites Death Stranding as an influence on that persistence, alongside GTA roleplay and the unpredictable encounters of ARC Raiders, Peak and Big Walk.
The studio describes an open, shifting fantasy wilderness built around exploration and relationships between players. Its pitch extends beyond arranging a session with friends: someone else’s actions could shape an adventure even when that person is no longer present.
The design builds on ideas Gardens was discussing during its previous funding round. In Lightspeed’s 2023 announcement, Chris Bell described a multiplayer fantasy adventure combining cooperation, conflict and the possibility of betrayal. The team’s background in Journey and Sky helps explain its interest in the relationships that emerge between strangers.
Closed Playtests Continue Before a Public Reveal
Players can apply for closed tests, but the project remains in pre-alpha and has not received a public release date or confirmed platform lineup. The studio used Project Gardens as a working title in its earlier development updates.
In its year review, Gardens said it had been testing with outside players even during pre-production. It sought people with varied play styles, including competitive, cooperative and non-combat approaches, to see how they responded to the world and to one another.
The new investment follows a $31.3 million Series A co-led by Lightspeed and Krafton in July 2023. Gardens also raised $4.5 million in an earlier seed round, discussed in GameDiscoverCo’s interview with lead investor Transcend.
We previously covered Circle Games’ $25 million Tencent-led Series A, which supported the expansion of its mobile puzzle business. Gardens’ latest round instead funds an unreleased shared-world game, with the work of launching it and sustaining its player community still ahead.
