As per recent reports, mobile gaming revenues have surpassed $92.2 billion in 2022, accounting for 50% of the $184.4 billion global gaming market revenues. It is estimated that the global gaming market will be worth $221 billion by 2025. At this point in time, DREST, a luxury gaming company, has scored £15 million in funding.
Plans to launch additional games soon
Based out of London, DREST merges the creative worlds of luxury, beauty, and lifestyle with the infinite possibilities of the metaverse.
This capital will enable DREST’s evolution across gaming, media, data, and e-commerce, as the company prepares to roll out a highly improved, metaverse-enabled version of its current product globally. It will include a series of new features, with the aim to become the leading creative platform for fashion, entertainment and lifestyle gamification.
Further plans include scaling DREST through the developer ecosystem, marketing channels, and strategic revenue streams and building on the user base growth experienced by the platform. Additional games within the web3 and lifestyle space are being explored and will enter into a Research & Development phase over the next 18 months.
The investment round was agreed upon with the family office of DREST co-founder and co-chair Graham Edwards. As Co-Chair of DREST, Mr. Edwards brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise from the investment and technology sectors, as well as strategic commercial acumen to support the growth and international expansion of DREST.
Graham Edwards said: “We’re delighted to be able to support Lucy in her quest to bring the merged worlds of gaming and fashion to an excitingly large global audience.”
Lisa Bridgett, CEO DREST added: “We are thrilled to have secured investment to help us scale DREST, especially in such a tough market. This is a testament to the strength of our product delivery and pipeline of ideas. We are now ready to take the business to the next level and offer a new one-of-a-kind experience to our users while maintaining the core elements of the game. There is an undeniable interest in gaming from the luxury fashion and lifestyle industries and we are very well-positioned to cater to this increasing demand. We very much look forward to the next chapter.”
Hires new CFO to its team
DREST’s new funding round follows the appointment of gaming and web3 expert Henri Holm as Chief Financial Officer who has previously worked with privately funded, venture capital-funded, and publicly listed companies, driving finance, business development and digital strategy creation.
Hyper-realistic avatars
Founded by Lucy Yeomans in 2019 in London, DREST combines gamification, advertising, e-commerce and data strategy opportunities and provides a fantastic platform for user-generated content through its styling challenges.
DREST offers players the chance to exhibit and improve their styling talent using the latest luxury fashion and beauty collections to style hyper-realistic avatars. Through its in-game challenges, DREST is a platform for user-generated content, with the digital fashion assortment provided by FARFETCH as well as brands directly, allowing players to easily discover, style, and shop the latest collections.
It is a ultimate fashion playground, a unique space where brands, entertainment platforms and talent can connect with audiences keen to discover, experience and be part of a creative community.