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§ Private Profile · Berkeley, CA, USA
Multiplayer VR basketball game with streetball-inspired gameplay, intuitive mechanics, and cross-platform competitive online matches.
Founded in 2021 by former Oculus employee Nathaniel Ventura and former CD Projekt Red developer Maciej Szcześnik, Vinci Games is a Berkeley studio that develops the virtual reality basketball game Blacktop Hoops. The streetball title features intuitive mechanics for shooting, dribbling, and dunking, attracting over one million players across Quest and Steam prior to its official launch. It supports cross-platform play and offers formats ranging from single-player campaigns against streetball legends to competitive 1v1 and 4v4 online matches. Operating on a premium model with a $30 purchase price, the game became the highest rated App Lab title, maintaining a 4.9 rating across more than 16,000 user reviews. Following a $60,000 Kickstarter campaign, the company secured $5.1 million in seed funding led by Makers Fund, alongside participation from Y Combinator and Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin.
Blacktop Hoops has raised $5.5M across 2 funding rounds.
Blacktop Hoops has raised $5.5M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Blacktop Hoops has raised $5.5M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Blacktop Hoops's investors include Gregory Gunadi, Bennett Siegel, Kevin Hartz, DST Global, Liquid 2 Ventures, Evan Moore, Mark Pincus, Kevin Lin, Anorak Ventures, BonAngels, Pioneer Fund, Soma Capital.
Blacktop Hoops has raised $5.5M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Seed in April 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2023 | $5M Seed | Gregory Gunadi | Bennett Siegel, Kevin Hartz, DST Global, Liquid 2 Ventures, Evan Moore, Mark Pincus, Kevin LIN, Anorak Ventures, Bonangels, Pioneer Fund, Soma Capital, Y Combinator | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2022 | $500K Seed | — | Y Combinator | Announced |
Blacktop Hoops is a competitive VR streetball game developed by Vinci Games, a remote game studio building immersive, AAA-quality multiplayer VR sports experiences.[1][2][5] The game serves VR gamers on platforms like Meta Quest and Steam, solving the lack of authentic, social basketball mechanics in virtual reality by offering intuitive dribbling, shooting, dunking, and multiplayer modes (1v1 to 4v4) alongside career mode, AI opponents, and customization.[3][4][5][6] It targets casual and competitive players, with strong growth shown through a successful $60K Kickstarter in 2022, Y Combinator participation, open beta launch, and a $5.1M seed round in 2023 led by Makers Fund.[3][4]
Vinci Games, the studio behind Blacktop Hoops, was founded by CEO Nathaniel Ventura, an Oculus and Unity veteran who led developer programs at Oculus, Google, and Unity, and CTO Maciej Szcześnik, former lead gameplay designer on *The Witcher* series at CD Projekt Red.[2][3][4] The idea emerged from their expertise in VR and AAA gaming, aiming to create "Electronic Arts for VR sports games" with social, competitive multiplayer as the future of AR/VR.[2][3] Early traction included an alpha release in April 2022, a Y Combinator stint, and a Kickstarter campaign that raised $60K in September 2022, leading to App Lab on Quest 2 and Steam availability.[3]
Blacktop Hoops rides the surge in social VR gaming and adoption of standalone headsets like Quest, where multiplayer sports fill a gap in authentic, physics-based experiences amid growing VR esports interest.[2][3][4] Timing aligns with VR hardware maturation (Quest 2/3 accessibility) and post-pandemic demand for virtual social connection, bolstered by investor confidence from Y Combinator and Makers Fund in VR's competitive potential.[3] It influences the ecosystem by pioneering VR sports mechanics, attracting players to platforms like App Lab/Steam, and validating remote AAA studios, potentially expanding to more sports titles.[2][3]
With $5.1M funding fueling team growth and new features, Vinci Games plans to push Blacktop Hoops toward full release with groundbreaking VR content, climbing rankings on Quest and Steam.[3][4] Trends like advancing VR hardware, AI-enhanced gameplay, and social metaverse integration will shape its path, evolving from streetball pioneer to broader VR sports leader—potentially the Electronic Arts of VR as envisioned.[2][3] This positions it to dominate immersive esports, connecting players globally in ways traditional gaming can't match, building on its hook as the ultimate VR hoops journey.