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Popular TikTok content creator Michael Le and tech entrepreneur Robin DeFay have co-founded Joystick, a gaming and esports platform aimed at empowering users to become pro gamers or content creators in the Web3 space by giving them the opportunity to keep 100 percent of revenue earned.
“Play-to-earn gaming has the potential to change so many lives and Joystick is creating a culture around this revolution,” said Le, who is 22. “Joystick’s goal is to create an environment where owning gaming assets and other tokens is accessible and beneficial to anyone in the world. The industry is craving a new model where players are more empowered to get paid for their time, and Joystick offers a valuable solution.”
Toward Le’s effort to educate traditional gamers by exposing them to play-to-earn gaming, the startup has raised $8 million in seed funding and is aiming to raise a $110 million Series A funding round.
“The rise of play-to-earn gaming and Web3 has created new earning potential for gamers,” said DeFay, who serves as CEO. “We are revolutionizing this model by allowing players to pay a fixed fee and earn 100 percent of the revenue they generate — a major improvement over the traditional revenue sharing model used by everyone else. This means the more players play, out hustle and outsmart, the more money they earn — not us.”
The company’s management team includes Paul Jin, who serves as CTO and lead developer.
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