MMORPGs
One of the central aspects which will help popularize the Metaverse and Web3 is going to be in massively multiplayer online role-playing video games — MMORPG for short. It is here, virtually, that hundreds, even thousands, of people can come together simultaneously to enjoy gaming.
Bright Star Studios, a global independent games development studio from Denmark, has its focus on this too, designing original, next-generation MMO game experiences.
Based in the city of Aarhus, Bright Star Studios was founded in 2018 by a diverse team of award-winning venture founders, Mark Laursen, Joris Huijbregts, Loren Roosendaal, Sage Durain, and Sune Thorse — innovators who are carving a new path forward for MMORPGs across PC, Browser and Mobile.
The studio intends to revolutionize the games industry with a business model that puts the community first via exciting competitive gameplay, instant playability and a leading platform which supports the player economy.
Developing its flagship title, Ember Sword — a free-to-play, browser-based MMORPG taking place in a player-driven dystopian fantasy universe with a classless and fast-paced combat system — Bright Star Studios is taking gaming to the next level in the age of Web3.
Built by a team of imaginative artists, engineers and game designers — former world champion pro-players and entertainment professionals who come with decades of game industry experience — these individuals are giving Ember Sword community-led and frictionless PvP and PVE player experience, and allowing true ownership of digital gaming assets using blockchain technology.
Bright Star Studio’s five co-founders, all with different backgrounds and skills, are the key people in the startup’s climb towards the MMORPG Metaverse heavens.
CEO Mark Laursen is a former Counter Strike Pro-Player and renowned MMORPG World Champion, who has throughout his career secured several founder-level and management positions at multiple companies. Throughout his career, Laursen has attracted attention from notable investors and partners including Immutable X, Mechanism Capital, Delphi Digital, Animoca Brands, Yield Guild, DeFiance Capital, Coingecko Ventures, BITKRAFT Ventures.
Loren Roosendaal is Bright Star Studio’s Executive Producer and the founder of several companies. Roosendaal started developing video games at age eleven as a hobby. Before he left high school, however, some three million people had played something he had been working on. Today, Roosendaal uses his know-how and technology from the games industry to build video games with whole new business models and to help companies and business leaders to solve some of their biggest challenges and create new opportunities.
A passionate game developer, Joris Huijbregts is the CTO at Bright Star Studios.
Sage Durain is the startup’s Creative Director, where his role is to define Ember Sword’s art direction for all things visual but also to create the foundation for the game design to grow.
A driven tech and games industry entrepreneur that loves mobile gaming a bit too much, Sune Thorse no longer plays an active role within the company. Thorse loves working with startups and has previously built, launched and taught the AP Degree Programme in games entrepreneurship at the Game Hub Denmark incubator.
Financially speaking, Bright Star Studios has raised a total of $2.7 million in funding over three rounds. With the money and crack team, the startup can break new ground in video game development for the next generation of MMO.
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