Gardens Interactive Raises Over $35M Series B for Debut Social RPG
The round's investor list, which includes the Yamauchi No.10 family office, Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield, and Sora co-creator Thomas Dimson, shows that the studio's live-service RPG has drawn backing from game money and tech money at a stage when the game itself is still unannounced.
Reporting from 1 source: GameBusiness.jp.
Gardens Interactive, a U.S. studio founded by developers who worked on Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Sky: Children of the Light, announced on October 7, 2026 that it raised over $35 million in a Series B round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The money goes to launch and live operations for an unannounced social RPG the studio calls "strandbox." Platforms and release timing were not disclosed.
Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and also co-led the Series A. New backers include Zenith Capital, founded by James Altman, former publishing director at Bethesda Softworks and executive producer of the TV adaptation of "Fallout," along with Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Innovation Endeavors, and Bayshore. Individual investors include Butterfield, FunPlus founder and CEO Andy Zhong, and Dimson. Existing investor Yamauchi No.10 reinvested.
The board and advisory structure also expanded, with former TikTok COO V Pappas and others joining. Altman is expected to support publishing negotiations, management, and expansion into other media.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.