Gunzilla Games
14 known investors
Ukrainian-German game studio behind battle royale shooter Off The Grid and the GUNZ blockchain platform.
Also known as GUNZ · Gunzilla
Founders & leadership
Investors · 14
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Gunzilla Games is a game development studio founded in 2020 by Vlad Korolov (also rendered Korolev), Alex Zoll and filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, with staff drawn largely from former Crytek employees, in particular from Crytek's former Ukrainian studio. The company describes itself as a Ukrainian-German business and maintains offices in Kyiv, Frankfurt and London. Its principal product is Off The Grid, a free-to-play third-person battle royale shooter for PC and console announced in 2022, for which Neill Blomkamp serves as creative director. The game incorporates player asset ownership and a player-driven in-game economy supported by an NFT marketplace.
Alongside the game, Gunzilla developed GUNZ, a blockchain platform launched in 2023 as an Avalanche subnet and intended to be offered on a white-label basis to other studios so that players can hold legal ownership of in-game items. The associated GUN token later expanded from Avalanche to the Solana blockchain, which the company said would broaden token accessibility, particularly for U.S. users. Both Off The Grid and the GUNZ platform were slated for full public launch in 2024.
In addition to game and platform development, Gunzilla acquired the rights to the games magazine and website Game Informer in 2025, after the publication had been shut down by GameStop in August 2024. Game Informer was restarted as a separate entity, Game Informer Inc., with its previously laid-off staff rehired and editorial independence from the studio stated by both parties.
Founding story
Vlad Korolov began his career in digital banking, running the commercial department of a payment-processing company, and then founded a financial technology startup that built an integrated IT system connecting banks and clients, used by more than 40 banks. He entered the games industry by co-founding the matchmaking app PLINK with Alex Zoll, which reached over five million users in the United States. The two founded Gunzilla Games in early 2020, with Korolov stating the motivation was to "make something that gamers want." Zoll had led Crytek's Kyiv studio during development of Warface. Korolov is also a partner and board member of GAMEGROOVE.
Business model
Gunzilla develops and operates a free-to-play shooter with an in-game economy built on tokenized and tradable digital items, supported by an NFT marketplace and the GUN token. It also operates the GUNZ blockchain platform, which is positioned for white-label licensing to other game studios seeking to give players legal ownership of in-game items. Through its acquisition of Game Informer, the company additionally owns a games media publication operated as an independent entity.
Free-to-play game monetization supported by an NFT marketplace and in-game economy, plus planned white-label licensing of the GUNZ blockchain platform to other studios.
Traction
The studio reported over 300 employees as of July 2025 and has raised capital including a $46 million round following the 2022 announcement of Off The Grid and $30 million announced in March 2024.
Latest developments
In 2025, Gunzilla acquired Game Informer and reinstated its team and website; the GUN token expanded from Avalanche to Solana; and the studio conducted a second round of layoffs in July 2025, three months after a prior round, with affected staff citing company restructuring.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Gunzilla is identified in trade press as a Web3 gaming company operating its own blockchain, with Off The Grid positioned as an AAA-scale battle royale built around asset ownership. The company also owns Game Informer, a U.S. games publication with a 33-year history that was the longest-running gaming publication in the country before its 2024 shutdown.
Technology
Gunzilla builds AAA-oriented game technology alongside GUNZ, a blockchain launched in 2023 as an Avalanche subnet, designed to record legal ownership of in-game items and to be licensed to third-party studios as white-label infrastructure. The GUN token, originally on Avalanche, was expanded to the Solana blockchain in 2025. Off The Grid pairs the shooter with an NFT marketplace and a player-driven economy.
Go-to-market
Off The Grid is distributed free-to-play on PC and console and was promoted in part through paid streamers. The GUNZ blockchain is marketed as a white-label offering to other studios. The company also maintains a public profile through owned media following its Game Informer acquisition.
Players of free-to-play console and PC battle royale shooters, holders and traders of in-game digital assets and the GUN token, and, for the GUNZ platform, other game studios seeking blockchain infrastructure for item ownership.
Geography
Ukrainian-German company with offices in Kyiv, Frankfurt and London.
History
The studio was founded in early 2020 by Vlad Korolov and Alex Zoll, together with Neill Blomkamp, staffed substantially by former Crytek personnel including from Crytek's Kyiv studio. Off The Grid was announced in 2022, shortly after which the company raised $46 million to fund the game and the development of its own blockchain platform. GUNZ launched in 2023 as an Avalanche subnet. In March 2024, Gunzilla announced $30 million in additional capital ahead of the public launches of Off The Grid and GUNZ. In 2025 the company acquired Game Informer and rehired its team; it subsequently carried out two rounds of layoffs, in approximately April 2025 and July 2025, the second coinciding with the GUN token's expansion to Solana.
Risks & controversies
Gunzilla conducted two rounds of layoffs within three months in 2025, with no official company statement issued on the July 2025 cuts; affected employees across art, production and DevOps roles attributed the reductions to company restructuring. The business model depends on blockchain and NFT-based in-game economies, and Off The Grid's early visibility was attributed in part to paid streamer promotion.
Compiled by commissioned research from 5 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 7
launches, deals, and filingsMultiple employees across art, production and DevOps roles publicly reported being laid off; the number affected was not disclosed and the company did not issue an official statement. A prior round occurred roughly three months earlier.
Gunzilla acquired the rights to the Game Informer brand more than seven months after GameStop shut the publication down in August 2024, rehiring the original team and reinstating the website and its back catalogue. The outlet operates independently as Game Informer Inc.
The GUNZ team stated the expansion to Solana would provide greater accessibility to the token, particularly for U.S. users.
The studio raised $30 million in fresh capital, of which $10 million was raised by issuing tokens. CoinFund and Avalanche's Blizzard Fund led the round, with Republic Capital, Morningstar Ventures and other investors participating.
$30M source ↗
A third of the $30 million capital raise, $10 million, was raised through the issuance of tokens.
$10M source ↗
GUNZ launched in 2023 as an Avalanche subnet, to be marketed white-label to other studios to secure legal ownership of in-game items.
Gunzilla announced the battle royale shooter Off The Grid; a funding round of $46 million followed shortly after, directed at game development and building its own blockchain platform.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 5
primary sources listed
- Gunzilla Games Secures 30 Million Dollar Fundinggamesmarket.global · web
5 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Gunzilla Games do?
- Ukrainian-German game studio behind battle royale shooter Off The Grid and the GUNZ blockchain platform.
- Who founded Gunzilla Games?
- Gunzilla Games was founded by Alexander Zoll.
- Who are Gunzilla Games's investors?
- Gunzilla Games's investors include 1k(x), 1kx, Andromeda Capital, CoinFund, Digital Strategies, Gamegroove Capital, Ghaf Capital Partners, Lvna Capital and 4 more.