adminGardens Interactive funding has topped $35 million in a Series B round, bringing the studio’s total investment to more than $70 million. The funding is intended to support development of the studio’s first game, a multiplayer project built around shared adventure and social roleplay.
Image credit: Gardens Interactive
Gardens Interactive funding and new investors
Lightspeed Venture Partners led the latest round. Other participating firms include Zenith Capital, Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Innovation Endeavours, and Bayshore.
The round also attracted individual investors from the technology and games industries. They include Stewart Butterfield, Slack co-founder and former CEO; Andy Zhong, founder and CEO of FunPlus; and Thomas Dimson, a co-creator of OpenAI’s Sora.
For readers following the studio’s plans, the reported total of more than $70 million provides context for the scale of its development effort. The announcement does not disclose how the investment will be divided among production, hiring, or other business needs.
Advisors and board representatives
Moritz Baier-Lentz, head of gaming and interactive media at Lightspeed Venture Partners, has joined Gardens Interactive as an independent advisor. Former TikTok chief operating officer V Pappas will represent Lightspeed on the studio’s board of directors.
Krafton will also have board representation. Mike Hong, the company’s director of investments and business analysis, will take that role, succeeding Maria Park. Park, Krafton’s head of corporate development, is joining Gardens Interactive’s leadership team as an independent advisor.
These appointments bring investment and business experience into the studio’s governance. Board representation and advisory roles are distinct: the announcement identifies Pappas and Hong as board representatives, while Baier-Lentz and Park are named as independent advisors.
What is Project Gardens?
Gardens Interactive was co-founded by developers whose previous work includes Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Sky: Children of the Light. Its debut game is in development under the working title Project Gardens.
The studio describes the project as a multiplayer “shared fantasy adventure” featuring social roleplay elements. CEO Stephen Bell says the concept is designed to let players shape one another’s adventures, express themselves, communicate, and build connections while changing the game world together.
Bell has also described the financing as support for completing a game of this scale and continuing to develop it over time. The studio’s broader ambition is to build a global presence in social entertainment, with player-driven worldbuilding at the center of its approach.
Why the Gardens Interactive funding matters
The Series B round gives Gardens Interactive additional backing as it develops a multiplayer game focused on shared experiences. However, the announcement does not provide a release date, platforms, gameplay footage, or a launch schedule for Project Gardens. Those details will be important for players looking to understand how the concept will take shape.
For now, the key points are the funding amount, the investors involved, and the project’s stated focus on social roleplay. Gardens Interactive funding has raised the studio’s total investment above $70 million, while Project Gardens remains in development under its working title.
