California-based studio Gardens Interactive announced it has completed over $35 million in Series B funding, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, bringing its total fundraising to more than $70 million. The studio is developing The Gardens, a shared-world fantasy adventure game.
Other investors in this round include Zenith Capital, Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, and Accel. The family office of the late former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, which participated in the studio's Series A funding in 2023, has also invested again.
Gardens Interactive is led by co-founder and CEO Stephen Bell, who previously worked on Journey and What Remains of Edith Finch. Designer Chris Bell was also involved in both titles.
The Gardens is the studio's debut title. The team uses their own coined term, "strandbox," to describe its gameplay: the consequences of actions taken by players in the sandbox world are felt by others who pass through later, even if the two parties never meet.
Chris Bell stated that the team hopes player encounters and connections will form naturally, with the game world constantly evolving. He mentioned that Death Stranding, Grand Theft Auto role-playing mechanics, and other multiplayer games have influenced the project. Currently, the team is inviting interested players to sign up for a closed pre-alpha test.