(Photo : Starform / Screenshot taken from Steam)
Developer Starform successfully raised $6 million in a crowdfunding round that it will use to improve its aerial combat simulator Metalstorm.
The Seattle-based studio's latest round of funding was led by BITKRAFT Ventures and was participated in by Dune Ventures. The latest financial support brings the total funding given to Starform to more than $13 million. The two previous funding rounds were held in 2019 and 2021.
New Crowdfunding Round
The new funding round will mostly be used for player outreach in order to attract more people to play its aerial combat simulator Metalstorm. The studio also revealed in a press release that it plans to expand its development team.
Starform also said that Metalstorm was able to reach an audience of more than 3 million players across mobile devices and PC since its debut to the public last year. That game is currently only available on Google Play, the Apple App Store, and the Epic Games Store.
Metalstorm is described as a team-based 5v5 game where players take control of various historically-inspired combat airplanes to soar the skies. They will have to battle one another to see who comes out on top, according to Geek Wire.
Read Also: 'The Rise of the Golden Idol' Dev Color Gray Games Shares DLC Roadmap Detailing Planned New Content
Every single plan in the game is equipped with its own unique set of abilities that were inspired by the actual aircraft's real-world capabilities. Metalstorm is set to come out on more platforms next year but the developer has not yet detailed which ones.
CEO and co-founder of Starform Lou Fasulo noted that the team believes in crafting short-session experiences that can unite players across different platforms. He added that Metalstorm was designed to facilitate connections between people.
Aerial Combat Simulator Metalstorm
The studio recently hired several people to fill in senior roles, including new COO Stefan Ramirez and director of production Chris Hager, among others. Founding partner at BITKRAFT Malte Barth said that Starform's vision was something that they admired in, Games Industry said.
He also noted that the aerial combat simulator exemplifies just how deeply engaging team-based play and innovative game design together can create meaningful and long-term connections between players.
Barth added that the developer had successfully demonstrated that it has a scalable business model. This led them to decide that they wanted to support the developer's journey to bringing the experience to a global audience.
In Metalstorm, players will be able to collect and upgrade some of the world's most advanced and legendary jets. They can then use these aircraft to work on becoming the top dog in the skies, according to Steam.
Related Article: Microsoft Shares 'Spyro Reignited Trilogy' Xbox Game Pass Official Release Date