Journey and Sky Creators Secure $35M Series B, Bringing Total to $70M
Gardens Interactive, founded by the creative minds behind Journey and Sky: Children of the Light, has completed a $35 million Series B funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The funding brings the studio's total capital raised to over $70 million, with backing from prominent investors including Stewart Butterfield and representatives from Krafton and OpenAI. The studio is developing its debut title, Project Gardens, described as a multiplayer shared fantasy adventure with social roleplay mechanics.
Gardens Interactive's leadership team brings extensive pedigree from acclaimed independent and mid-scale studios. The company's founders previously contributed to celebrated titles spanning narrative-driven single-player experiences and live-service social games, positioning them to blend storytelling craft with community-focused design. The studio's ambitious debut project aims to create a persistent world where player agency and self-expression drive the core gameplay loop rather than serving as secondary features.
The investor consortium reflects confidence in both the creative vision and the commercial opportunity. Beyond traditional venture capital firms, the round attracted entrepreneurs and executives from adjacent sectors—messaging platforms, mobile gaming, and AI development—suggesting belief that social roleplay mechanics represent an emerging category with cross-industry relevance and growth potential.
The funding validates a potential market shift toward social-first game design, which could reshape how studios prioritize community tools and player expression over traditional progression systems. If successful, Project Gardens may influence industry investment patterns and development priorities, encouraging competitors to explore similar collaborative worldbuilding mechanics. This could affect both player expectations around social features and studio resource allocation, though execution risks remain substantial given the category's relative novelty at this scale.