Cross the Ages, a competitive trading card game with NFTs on Ethereum scaling network Immutable X, launched its CTA token Wednesday alongside an announcement of a new funding round for the studio behind the game.

The $3.5 million equity funding round was led by crypto investment giant Animoca Brands, with further investment by The Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget, as well as Nicolas Jeuffrain, co-founder of renewable energy firm Tenergie. The firm has now raised $23.5 million in total between previous investment and community fundraising.

"We are thrilled to welcome Animoca Brands as the lead investor in our first equity round," said Cross the Ages co-founder and CEO Sami Chlagou, in a release. "This collaboration signifies a shared commitment and a vote of confidence for CTA's gaming universe to expand the IP amongst Animoca brands ecosystems and partners."

The CTA token on Ethereum is now available through exchanges including Bybit and KuCoin. At a current price of about $0.29, the token is down 8% on the day per data from CoinGecko, and hit a peak price of just above $0.37 earlier Wednesday.

Cross the Ages has seen prominent backing from traditional video game giants like Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft and Final Fantasy creator Square Enix. Both firms previously invested in the studio, and Ubisoft collaborated with the game earlier this year by bringing its Watch Dogs franchise to Cross the Ages via an NFT expansion pack.

"Blockchain gaming is an important movement that is bringing true digital ownership to the masses," said Animoca Brands co-founder and Executive Chairman Yat Siu, in a release. "Cross The Ages perfectly embodies the values of this movement, enabling users to live experiences in a virtual environment solidly founded upon personal ownership."

Editor’s note: This article was written with the assistance of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.