Axie developer raises US$150mil as gamers flee after hacking

In-game assets called 'Axies' are seen in this undated handout image from the blockchain-based game Axie Infinity, which is owned by Sky Mavis. Since disclosing the hack, Axie Infinity had to restrict the ability of players to move digital money out of the virtual world and has seen the number of daily active users decline. — Sky Mavis/Handout via Reuters

Sky Mavis, the developer of the popular play-to-earn Axie Infinity video game that lost about US$625mil (RM2.63bil) in a hack last month, raised US$150mil (RM633.30mil) to help stem an exodus of players after they were unable to access gaming proceeds.

The money will be used to partially reimburse participants and enhance security measures. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and one of the primary trading platforms for the digital tokens used in conjunction with the game, led the funding round, the companies said in a statement Wednesday. Other participating investors include the gaming and blockchain company Animoca Brands, the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Dialectic and Paradigm.