Gaming Startups Raise $2 Billion in 2026, Already Ahead of 2025

Gaming-related startups have raised around $2 billion so far in 2026, already surpassing the full-year 2025 total after the sector hit a longtime low last year, according to Crunchbase data.

A handful of outsized rounds did most of the lifting. The largest came from Meshy AI, a Sunnyvale, California-based developer of foundation models for AI-powered 3D generation, which pulled in $400 million in a July Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation. Meshy is not a pure-play gaming company, but it counts gaming as a core use case for its 3D AI agent.

Decart, an Israel-based developer of a platform for training AI models, raised $300 million. Like Meshy, Decart is not a gaming pure play, but it is known for a video simulation technology pitched as compelling for game development.

Pure gaming startups also landed on the largest-round list. Nex, a motion-based family game developer, closed $150 million last week. Grand Games, a Turkish mobile gaming company, picked up $70 million in May.

The funding revival extends to the investor side. Makers Fund, a San Francisco-based gaming-focused venture firm, closed $250 million last month for its fourth flagship fund. The raise follows a string of successful investments, including a lead seed stake in Dream Games, the viral puzzle game maker that later exited at a $5 billion valuation.

Makers Fund has stayed busy as a backer, participating in at least 10 known rounds this year, per Crunchbase data. Those include financings for high-profile startups such as Novig, the sports betting platform that recently drew attention for a controversial ad campaign.

A few months before Makers Fund closed its new vehicle, Griffin Gaming Partners announced a $100 million raise of its own for a fund focused on indie games. The firm's Special Opportunities Fund intends to provide financing in exchange for a share of a game's revenue — a structure Griffin hopes will appeal more to indie studios than traditional equity deals.

The rebound remains relative. Gaming startup investment still sits far below the peaks of a few years ago, and the gains are concentrated in a small number of very large rounds, many of them from companies where AI, not gameplay, is the core product.

Still, the direction of the funding charts points to an upturn in the early stages of forming. If AI-adjacent developers like Meshy and Decart continue to command nine-figure valuations — and dedicated firms like Makers Fund and Griffin keep deploying fresh capital — 2026 could mark the year gaming investment bottomed out and began climbing again.