River – Earlybirds Invest

Indie developers Cold River Games have announced a $2 million USD raise for Crystalfall – a web3 action-RPG set to launch in 2025.

The Cold River team boasts experience working on titles such as Path of Exile, Stellaris and Pillars of Eternity – and they’re set to bring that experience to the Diablo-esque Crystalfall title, with Parker Heath, Gaming Lead at funding participants Avalanche, stating that “it’s a bold bet on where the future of gaming is headed.”

Blockchain technology is set to play a major role within Crystalfall, with it likely that Avalanche will power these systems in-game. Cold River CEO Åke André has stated that with their focus on loot progression, “maintaining a secure game economy is an important part [of the experience]”, and that “while this technology isn’t suitable for all types of games, we find that it has a place in ARPGs where it can enhance the barter economy.”

Key Insights

Cold River Games has announced a $2 million USD raise, led by Beam Investments
The funds will go towards the development of Crystalfall, a web3 ARPG set to debut later this year
Avalanche have participated in the raise, leading to speculation that Avalanche will power the game’s blockchain-based features
Players can expect a old-school ARPG experience, set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk work with an array of unique mechanics
Crystalfall is expected to be made available on both Steam and the Epic Games Store

Cold River Games Raise - $2M Funding Round — Source: Cold River Games

What is Crystalfall?

Crystalfall is an upcoming free-to-play ARPG, expected to be built on Avalanche, and to be available on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Developed by Swedish studio Cold River Games, and inspired by the likes of Path of Exile and Diablo, players dive into a post-apocalyptic steampunk world as a mutated hybrid, wielding an array of unique weapons, facing an array of challenges, and encountering a truly old-school RPG experience.

In recent weeks, Cold River have revealed new details about Crystalfall, including the staff-wielding Technomancer character, an expanded talent tree, and lootable skills.

The game is expected to become available later in 2025 on both Steam and the Epic Games Store – though as of writing, no information has been shared regarding an exact date of release, or any accessible beta tests.

Cold River Games Raise - Crystalfall Gameplay Screenshot — Source: Crystalfall

How will these funds assist Crystalfall?

According to André, these funds came at an important time – especially considering the VC landscape for web3 gaming.

“I’ve seen a lot of studios that have failed to raise money lately because the market is very tough,” André said. “It’s a positive in the sense that the money was very easy to come by. In the past, I think VCs were just throwing money to the left or right. And later they wanted more KPIs and were more conservative. It means a lot we were successful with a Swedish investor coming into a Swedish game studio. I’m very happy.”

Alongside Beam Investments, the funding round was joined by Partnerinvest Norr, CoinFund, the Avalanche Foundation, and A100X.

“We are incredibly grateful to have such strong partners backing our studio and believing in our vision for Crystalfall,” said André.

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Key Insights

What is Crystalfall?

How will these funds assist Crystalfall?

Institutional maturity

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River has no interest in building a “successful crypto casino”