Quick Take
- Wildcard and Thousands secured $9M in a joint funding round co-led by Arbitrum Gaming Ventures and Paradigm, bringing total funding to $55M.
- Thousands.tv reported $800K+ in May revenue, with a 77% viewer-to-payer conversion rate and $50K average per stream, highlighting strong monetization potential.
- Wildcard’s Early Access launch is underway, with weekly playtests streamed live to a 100K+ community using an onchain streaming and attribution model
MOBA Web3 game, Wildcard Alliance and Thousands have raised $9 million in a joint funding round to continue building a new blockchain-based gaming and streaming ecosystem. Co-led by Arbitrum Gaming Ventures and Paradigm, the funding brings their total raised to $55 million, including a previous $46 million Series A in 2022.
This single raise also represents the entirety of Web3 gaming investment activity recorded in May 2025. According to sector data, just $9 million was invested across the entire space last month, the lowest monthly total of the year so far. That drop follows a sharp decline from late 2024, when monthly figures regularly topped $200 million. The fact that this $9 million raise came from a single project suggests a narrowing of investor focus toward teams with proven execution and infrastructure.
Thousands is a Web3 protocol designed to turn creator influence into trackable and rewardable onchain data. Wildcard, its sister company, is developing a 2v2 third-person card action game that mixes arena combat with strategic summoning mechanics. The two companies are led by Paul and Katy Drake Bettner, known for their work on Words With Friends, Lucky’s Tale, and Age of Empires.
The funding will go toward development of Wildcard’s launch ecosystem and Thousands.tv, a web-native streaming layer that integrates wallet connectivity and live engagement tracking. Viewers on the platform can earn and interact directly with creators in a shared onchain economy. The network generated over $800,000 in revenue in May 2025, with a 77% viewer-to-payer conversion rate and average stream earnings of $50,000.
“It’s simple,” said co-CEO Paul Bettner. “Wildcard only succeeds if its creators and community succeed. Thousands gives us the onchain rails to solve this problem—to record and reward user acquisition and conversion at every step.”
Wildcard is currently playtesting weekly with a 100,000-member community, ahead of its Early Access launch later this year. Playtests are streamed on Thousands.tv, where average viewer revenue recently hit $141, according to internal metrics.
The companies employ about 30 full-time staff and 30 contractors across development, creator onboarding, and ecosystem operations.
