Auto Legends adds $1M to its funding round in Coinbase Ventures deal

Auto Legends, a social drag racing Web3 game, has added $1 million in a strategic investment from Coinbase Ventures’ Base Ecosystem Fund to its existing $8 million round.

Auto Legends aims to capture the real-life car enthusiast journey where multiple paths are available to becoming an automotive legend, from racing, collecting, team ownership, hosting tournaments, providing tuning services, building and selling parts, running car dealerships, and more.

The Web3 drag racing game also announced its inaugural non-fungible token (NFT) mint, granting early supporters exclusive in-game rewards.

Other investors in the found include Operating Group, and Draper Dragon. This new investment is part of a larger $9 million fundraising round, further fueling Auto Legends’ mission to deliver a high-stakes racing experience that captures the depth and passion of car culture.

With a team of industry veterans from top gaming studios and a legacy of creating hit racing franchises that have attracted over 65 million players, Auto Legends is poised to redefine Web3 gaming with a triple-A-quality experience. This infusion of capital not only accelerates development but also reinforces institutional confidence in Auto Legends’ long-term vision and its ability to bridge the gap between traditional racing games and blockchain-powered ownership.

“We are proud to be supporting a team which has consistently delivered world class racing games to capture the imagination of web3 gaming, and excited for Auto Legends to accelerate its reach on Base.” said Shan Aggarwal, VP of Corporate and Business Development Ventures at Coinbase, in a statement.

As part of its continued growth, Auto Legends has onboarded Scott Probin, a gaming industry veteran with over 35 years of experience in triple-A game production, who will play a key role in refining gameplay, onboarding Web2 players, and strengthening the game’s player-owned economy.

Probin most recently worked on Off The Grid, a high-profile Web3 shooter, and has extensive experience working on world renowned sport and racing titles, including Need for Speed Underground, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2, John Madden Football, and For Honor.

“Scott’s decades of experience in AAA game development, combined with his lifelong passion for cars and racing games, will help us create an authentic experience that truly resonates with racing fans and car enthusiasts,” said Peter Pham, CEO of Auto Legends, in a statement. “We’re building a unique game that’s accessible, competitive, and rewarding for all players– both Web2 and Web3.”

The backstory

Autoverse Studios is led by executive chairman and former Cie Games founder (Car Town, Racing Rivals), Justin Choice, who brought together his ex-teammates for a run at making another great mobile racing franchise.

The cofounders have reassembled a talented team from Cie Games, Glu Mobile, Riot Games, Xbox, EA, Ubisoft, and Scopely — with a strong pedigree for making racing games. Cie Games’ previous games — Nitto 1320 Legends, Car Town, and Racing Rivals — collectively reached 140 million players and were the No. 1 auto games on their respective platforms.

Supporting Auto Legends as the most social, authentic, and competitive vehicle ownership experience are the game’s mechanics in giving players the opportunity to buy cars that are limited in ratio to their real-life production quantities, tuning them with realistic aftermarket parts, showing off their customized rides in social meet-ups, going head-to-head, racing against other players for status and prize money, or even risking the cars themselves in high-stakes “pink slip” races.

With the initial play environment set in Southern California, players race in various formats earning XP (PVE), fan following (PVP), cash, leaderboard status, and rare car parts.

As players progress, they unlock better performance shops, garages to hold their car collection, new areas, environments, and gameplay elements. Growing in rank, players upgrade their car with better parts and add new cars to their garage collection.

Beta access and inaugural NFT mint

Alongside the new funding, Auto Legends is preparing for its first ever NFT mint, giving early supporters a chance to own exclusive in-game cars ahead of launch. The mint will introduce limited-edition digital collectibles that players can use in the game’s competitive ecosystem.