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Flying Sheep Studios said the Star Life title, a social massively multiplayer online (MMO) game aimed at the metaverse, has raised $1.2 million in funding from the German government.
The game focuses on collaborative and community-driven experiences that prioritize fun, diversity, and being the party, as well as being part of the metaverse, ultimately hosting events and concerts for players.
Star Life, a subsidiary of Australia’s iCandy Interactive, is being developed with web-based HTML5 technology that will make its metaverse highly accessible.
Flying Sheep Studios said it is “excited to bring Star Life to players around the world and looks forward to being part of the growing metaverse.”
Funding for the game comes from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Star Life will be a highly accessible metaverse game, playable from any browser on any device. To develop this groundbreaking project, Flying Sheep has hired additional talent, including four industry veterans.
iCandy Interactive has an international footprint with other video game studios in Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia) and Flying Sheep Studios is the first major investment in Europe.
Players can enter the Star Life metaverse via a web browser on both desktop and mobile devices with just one click. The game also prioritizes diversity, offering players several options for character creation, shopping, and community-driven events such as concerts and exhibitions.
In addition, Star Life will include optional blockchain assets or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), giving players greater ownership and choice over their virtual assets. These assets can be transferred and used across platforms, making the process streamlined and convenient. Star Life will be a free-to-play game available to everyone.
“We are grateful to the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action for their support and trust in our project. This funding demonstrates that the federal budget for video games is working as intended, promoting the development of advanced technical know-how ‘made in Germany’ and creating and securing jobs,” said Thomas Rössig, managing director of Flying Sheep Studios, in a statement.
Flying Sheep also hired additional talent, including four industry veterans: Renke Bahlmann, lead game designer; Frank Reitberger, lead 3D developer; Daniel Schemann, head of backend development; and Nina Kiel, Head of Diversity and Inclusion.
Since the company was founded in 2014 in Cologne, Germany, Flying Sheep Studios has delivered more than 200 games on time, quality and budget to satisfied customers, often in collaboration with brands such as Lego, Barbie and DreamWorks.
iCandy Group is backed by strategic shareholders including Animoca Brands, Fatfish Group, Baidu, Singtel, SK Square, AIS and IncubateFund, as well as several Australian and international funds.
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