It is like the Internet but in 3D. Even with games. The metaverse is prognosed to be the next step in almost everything online today – all applications, digital operating systems, webpages that work on common protocols and the technology that connects them. The metaverse is a 3D elevation of the online world, which spans an augmented reality experience – unseen virtual simulations in the world around us – as well as much of consumer leisure and socializing. Since the metaverse is still building itself, some Southeast European startups are already making jumps into the emerging world of web 3.0 and its gaming aspects. Here is a list of startups building metaverse games in Southeast Europe.
Startups building metaverse games in Romania
Name: Corb Project
Founders: Andrei Tarnauk
In a nutshell: Corb Project is a Iasi-based startup spearheading the expansion of web 3.0 in Eastern Europe. Founded in September 2021, the company has started developing a game of a new type of genre – “Crow’s Nest”. This is an NFT fantasy roleplaying game in which players take on the role of a daring pirate captain, leading his crew towards undiscovered treasures.
The core elements of the game involve crew and ship micromanagement, in the pursuit of adventures that come with their own risks and rewards. The NFTs include various attributes a pirate would need – from ships and crew members to swords and guns.
Currently they are not revealing any investment connections they have as the small team is still in its naissance stage.
Startups building metaverse games in Greece
Name: NTZNS
Founders: Constantino Roselli
In a nutshell: NTZNS is a 3D digital fashion and luxury creative studio that designs digital wardrobes for influencers on social media, and for avatars, and metahumans in the metaverse. NTZNS is the abbreviation of the word NETIZENS, which means the citiZeNS of the interNeT.
The focus of the company is to connect 3D digital fashion creators directly with their audience – digital fashion collectors, influencers, content creators, fashion lovers, and gamers in particular, as social games platforms like VRChat gain popularity with customizing and stylizing your character with an exclusive virtual brand.
The small team is trying to expand in the unexplored world of web3 and fashion, and games, and more.
Startups building metaverse games in Bulgaria
Name: Mass Horizon
Founders: Nadia Danova
In a nutshell: Mass Horizon is a 2019 founded multidisciplinary computer graphics, art, creative and technology development company based in Sofia, Bulgaria with a branch in Philadelphia. Their goal is to introduce interactive products and real-time gamification experiences in the realm of virtual reality, virtual production, CGI, animation and visual effects, software, mobile and web app design and development (UI & UX).
On June 27th, the company announced on their Facebook page one of their latest 3D animated Metaverse NFT projects. As for details for their upcoming Meta project, Mass Horizon is building expectations by keeping the development process secret.
Startups building metaverse games in Croatia
Name: Tribute Brand
Founders: Gala Marija Vrbanic, Marina Jukic, Filip Vajda
In a nutshell: Similar to NTZNS, Tribute Brand, a Zagreb-based digital fashion brand for contactless and cyber fashion, has released digital fashion garments as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) powered by the Lusko blockchain, exclusively with UK’s experiential marketplace The Dematerialised. This drop is called ‘The Real Deal’ and it represents the metamorphosis of fashion through different aspects of physicality and reality.
Tribute Brand emerged as the pandemic was breaking in 2020, birthing a new genre of style named contactless cyber fashion. Their “cyber garments” are suited for virtual reality and social meta-games.
Startups building metaverse games in Turkey
Name: Abrakadabra Games
Founders: Ozgur Ipek
In a nutshell: Abrakadabra Games develops game technologies focused on the metaverse with its platform called Vieverse. It is now gearing up to offer users the ‘Viewers’ platform, which enables any video to be gamified in seconds. With funding received from Güneri Invest in February, which carries out the investment operations of Zihni Holding, the startup is planning a global launch by completing partnership agreements with telecom, sports, FMSG, and video equipment companies.
It will also bring together View & ViewX Tokens to users, to implement different income models such as watch-to-earn and create-to-earn, as well as play-to earn. The company’s goal is to become the YouTube of gamified videos.
Name: Gamerpazar
Founders: Burak Sall, Fatih Sal, Semih Aslan
In a nutshell: Gamerpazar is another Istanbul based startup that is an innovative on-chain web 3.0 marketplace that allows gamers to trade their gaming equipment and virtual assets with the initial idea to enable gamers to trade their equipment in a metaverse way as the main trading platform offers second hand buying and selling.
The Gamerpazar platform currently services companies like Rockstar, Konami, Playstation Studios, bloodber team, and games like PubG and Grand Theft Auto V.
Startups building metaverse games in Cyprus
Name: LigaZone
Founders: Ali Karatasli
In a nutshell: Nicosia-founded LigaZone is a digital platform that specializes in e-sports, different platforms (Xbox, Playstation), video games, entertainment, B2C, and the metaverse. The company introduces a market NFT service for trading in-game equipment and developing a metaverse platform. Their site allows purchasing assets on gaming platforms and tech. The transactions are aimed to be fully automated and completely virtual.
Currently, the startup is making contacts with popular names such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, multiple titles of PubG, and Call of Duty.
Name: Learn2Play
Founders: Elena Urusova, Dmitrii Rybalchenko
In a nutshell: Learn2Play is an international e-learning company developing products for the esports market. The abbreviation in the name stands for Learn-to-Play as the company puts focus on the video game industry, currently going through a paradigm shift toward virtual subscription services. Put simply, users can make money while playing.
As it is in its early ages, the company is making connections with several other esports markets by introducing NFT virtual trading between accounts and in-game equipment.
