South African Blockchain-Based AR Game nears $1 Million in ICO Funding Goal

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A new South African Blockchain-based augmented reality (AR) mobile game called Augmentors, made in South Africa, looks well on its way to meeting its crowdfunding target of $1 million dollars in their Initial Coin Offering (ICO). 

According to a report in South Africa’s Ventureburn, by journalist Hadlee Simons, the project’s  30-day crowdfunding round for the Android and iOS game, in the form of an initial coin offering (ICO), hit half of its US$1-million target in 24 hours. Supporters who purchased coins came from the USA, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Norway, Romania, Netherlands, Canada, and China.

Michael Deon and Kyle Haffenden pitched their Augmentors game on the Shark Tank TV show last year, with venture capitalist Vinny Lingham getting on board.

The crowdfunding campaign sees 70 million in-game “Databits” (15 000 Databits is the equivalent of one Bitcoin) being put up for sale. Databits will have utility and not only can the be traded in cryptocurrency exchanges after the ICO, they can also be used in the game.

“The exchange for 1 Bitcoin (BTC) will be 15 000 DataBits. People, who have bought DataBits during the Token Sales or from another player after the end of the Token Sales, will be able to trade their DTB on the Blockchain and exchange them for other cryptocurrencies,” their  website notes.

“Seed funding for the development of the game came from Lingham’s startup angel investment firm Newtown Partners, which he co-founded with Cape Town-based venture capitalist Llew Claasen, who is also the executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation,” noted their press release. “Fellow Shark Tank South Africa investor Gil Oved, group co-CEO and co-founder of The Creative Counsel, Africa’s largest advertising agency, is also an angel investor in Augmentors.”

The crowdfunding ICO drive ends on 28 February, with an alpha version of the game expected to launch in May 2017 and a beta launching “shortly thereafter”.