GCP - Strategic Update (March 2025)

[CastleCapital]

The GCP team is committed to providing the DAO with regular, insightful updates on our activities and progress. You may have noticed this week that we announced some steps to improve on this commitment - many of the commitments were already planned during Eth Denver in February 2025, prior to the events in the prior week.

This particular monthly update will have higher fidelity than other monthly updates and was planned as a special update specifically post-GDC. With new communication roles joining the team, we wanted to kick off with a comprehensive update that included a few additional items.

Here’s what you can expect from this post:

• A refresher on the GCP:
  • Its long-term objectives as well as its recent focus areas
  • A view into the organization, its team growth, and its stakeholders
• Company incorporation information
• Progress to date across Operations, Recruitment, Deals, Branding/Marketing/Comms/Events, and an update on the H1 plan
• Other key updates
  • A dive into our investment pipeline and processes
  • A recap of our GDC participation
  • Detail our ongoing efforts to strengthen communications
  • Confirmation on ARB movements and GCP Foundation vesting
• Closing remarks and commitments for future communication topics

GCP Refresher

Before we get into the details, here’s a refresher on the GCP and the resources you need to stay informed.

High-Level Objectives

@Djinn

We will know we are succeeding when we achieve the following:

Rapidly Increase the number of Game Developers using Arbitrum/Orbit/Stylus

The GCP aims to provide support and resources to developers interested in building on the Arbitrum network. This includes access to funding, mentorship by vetted experts, and other forms of assistance to expedite the development process and contribute to success in the market post-launch.

Strategic Allocation of Resources via Grants and Investments

By allocating resources strategically, the program can maximize its impact by focusing on proven publishers and developers as well as promising independent projects within gaming. This ensures that resources are used efficiently and effectively to foster the growth of high-quality games on Arbitrum.

Attracting and retaining Top Talent

Just as DeFi projects have flocked to Arbitrum due to its innovative technology and incentives, the GCP aims to attract the best game developers in the industry. By offering support,incentives and game industry specific tools, Arbitrum can position itself as an attractive platform for game development, leading to a surge in high-quality gaming experiences on the network.

Expanding the Use Cases of Arbitrum

While DeFi has been a major focus of Arbitrum’s success so far, expanding into the gaming vertical opens up new opportunities and use cases for the network. By supporting game and gaming infrastructure development, Arbitrum can diversify its ecosystem and appeal to a broader range of users and developers, with results that include but are not limited to Orbit chain and Stylus adoption.

Facilitating the Development of Sticky, Quality Games

The ultimate goal of the GCP is to encourage the development of sticky, high-quality games that not only attract users but also retain them over the long term. A dedicated GCP Team and Council representing the interests of the DAO will serve as quality control mechanisms to make sure the best applicants receive the full support of the GCP.

You can read the original forum proposal here and see the Tally vote here.

Since approval and funding from the DAO, the GCP has mainly been in “Startup Phase”, where the main focus has been to:

1. Establish a dedicated team and venture initiative to provide technical and strategic support to the game industry. This dedicated team is key to attracting and retaining the best established and independent developers.
2. Create all the necessary business, operational, and legal frameworks, with close collaboration with the Arbitrum Foundation (“AF”) and its service provider, Offchain Labs (“OCL”).
3. Create all operational platforms, including recruiting agency platforms, banking/finance vendor setups, and other essential tools.
4. Set up an internal HR function to handle new employee onboarding and personnel scaling.
5. Set up, test, and iterate on our internal investment due diligence process
6. Stand up all cross-entity rituals, processes, and operations for efficient collaboration with OCL and AF.

With the Startup Phase largely complete, the GCP is now entering its Growth Phase, shifting from setup to scale. With core systems and operations in place, we’re focused on accelerating investments, expanding our team/capabilities, and deepening the level of cross-Arbitrum collaboration.

Goals and KPIs

The original GCP proposal outlined Goals and KPIs, designed to be high-level while retaining alignment with wider Arbitrum ecosystem goals. Additional goals and objectives will be set by the GCP team and Council as the program matures. Year 1 began on 1st January 2025.

@Djinn

Within the initial time frame of the program (3 years), the goal is to establish Arbitrum as a de facto leader for on-chain gaming. Specifically:

• 400-600 applications
• 100-200 net funded games
• Win net migrations to Arbitrum vs other L2s
• 50+ new Orbit launches

The GCP will take time to reach its full potential, and setting milestones vs maturity of the program is prudent:

KPI	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Daily Active Users	20,000	50,000	To be set by GCP Team
Orbit Launches	5	20	To be set by GCP Team
Studio Deals	10	20	To be set by GCP Team

Organization & Stakeholders

In this section, we will briefly describe the operational mapping of the GCP and its stakeholders.

Core Organization

Organization Chart

*Image updated 2025-03-30

A critical component of the GCP is the organization dedicated to executing on its mandate. Below, we will detail some of these key contributors, information on whom can also be found here.

Core Working Team:

• Rick Johanson – Partner

  • Current Focus Areas: Team operations, hiring, venture platform development, and early-stage deal sourcing/investments.
  • Investment & Grants Committee Member

• Dan Peng – Partner

  • Current Focus Areas: Deal sourcing/due diligence, pipeline management, business development, and operational support.
  • Investment & Grants Committee Member

GCP Council:

• Tim Chang – Investment Committee Chair & Grants Committee Member
• David Bolger – Grants Committee Chair & Investment Committee Member
• Greg Canessa – Recruiting Committee Chair
• John Kennedy
• Coinflip Canada

The primary duties of the GCP Council are to provide strategic oversight and guidance, while ensuring transparency and alignment between the Gaming Catalyst Program and the Arbitrum DAO.

@rickjohanson

Primary responsibilities of the GCP Council:

• As a Council Member, you’ll leverage your deep industry knowledge and financial expertise to guide the program’s strategic direction and ensure the utmost transparency to the Arbitrum DAO.

• Collaborate with the GCP team to evaluate game projects, partnerships, and proposals, identifying their potential and risks.

• Offer insightful recommendations, valuable introductions, and work with the team to develop risk mitigation strategies, strengthening the overall success of the program.

• Participate in shaping the long-term vision of GCP, keeping it aligned with emerging trends and the overall goals of the Arbitrum ecosystem.

• Help craft an investment thesis and portfolio strategy for future proposals, shaping investment and grant decisions for a thriving Arbitrum games ecosystem.

• Provide oversight and recommendations on GCP team member nominations and performance, fostering a strong and dynamic team environment.

• Serve as one of the main liaisons between the DAO and the GCP initiative.

Arbitrum Foundation Observer Seat:

• Raam - currently assigned AF Observer

DAO Relations Partner:

• Castle Labs (@insomniac & @atomist)

Team Growth

Building a high-performing team is crucial to the GCP’s ability to effectively support the Arbitrum gaming ecosystem. We are making significant progress in expanding our team with key hires. Many of the following requisitions will be listed on our site in the coming week.

We currently have three hires in progress:

Offer accepted – Investor candidate with a strong background in the Southeast Asian market for the Associate role.

Offer extended – Operations Manager candidate with extensive experience in business operations/program management, including roles at top consulting firms and tech companies.

Offer extended – Content/communications candidate with deep experience in gaming and blockchain, supporting PR and comms for a tier-one gaming studio.

In addition, we are actively interviewing:

• Grants Manager - This role is pivotal in managing the entire grants lifecycle. From evaluating applications to tracking outcomes while elevating the standard for grant program service design.
• Principal, Investor - This role will lead efforts to expand our presence in the rapidly growing Asian gaming market.
• We are kicking off searches for legal/GC and finance roles in partnership with a recruitment firm as well.

The search for a General Manager is also underway. This critical role will provide strategic leadership and oversight for the GCP. An industry-relevant search firm is supporting this process with the GCP council and team to ensure we identify top-tier candidates. We’ve already received several strong profiles from our recruiting partner, with initial screens expected to begin soon.

Stakeholders

Furthermore, the stakeholders surrounding the GCP cannot be understated. Outside of the core team, Council and Investment Committee, the GCP is dedicated to fostering a thriving gaming ecosystem on Arbitrum through collaborative efforts with the Arbitrum Foundation and Offchain Labs. That being said, we also prioritize our independent role in securing optimal results and outcomes for our portfolio companies and the broader Arbitrum community.

The diagram illustrates the collaborative relationship of our three organizations:

Company Incorporation and Structuring

To establish a robust and legally sound foundation for its operations, the GCP’s legal entity is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The entity is structured as a Foundation, officially named The GCP Foundation. The registration of The GCP Foundation was completed on July 5th, 2024, in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.

The completion of the incorporation process involved several key steps, including finalizing the foundation bylaws and ensuring an appropriate level of autonomy while retaining the oversight and transparency/accountability of the team. These steps were essential to ensure that The GCP Foundation is structured in a manner that best supports its long-term objectives and operational needs.

While the drafting of bylaws was complete in Q4 2024, we wanted to ensure the bylaws captured both operational requirements and Council / DAO powers by going through additional independent legal review, resulting in draft completion of bylaws in January 2025, and official signing in February 2025. The bylaws were especially important as the framework would likely be utilized by future strategic initiatives of the DAO, and both vested ARB and deployment of capital were agreed to be restricted until bylaw completion.

For full transparency, the documents related to The GCP Foundation’s legal structure are available for review by DAO delegates:

• Memorandum of Association: https://docsend.com/view/hrsuq66tij5wkucu
• The GCP Foundation Bylaws: https://docsend.com/view/pc5rf25bzxhx9peh

Progress to Date

Operations

• Officially structured entity and bylaws to support DAO mandate and operational needs.
• Stood up financial platforms, including banking/custody partners, and liquidity management tools.
• Hired and onboarded part-time accounting and operations team for bookkeeping, financial reporting, banking management, and other needs.
• Other vendors include a PR agency of record, brand/creative, recruiting & operations support, and an executive search firm.

Recruiting

• Talent Pipeline - Developed a comprehensive candidate pipeline in collaboration with our external recruiting partners, encompassing structured interview processes, detailed rubrics, job descriptions, etc.​
• General Manager Search - Initiated the search for a GM/GP in partnership with a leading executive search firm and the GCP Council.​
• Compensation and Hiring Framework - Established framework for compensation and hiring practices, leveraging insights from external compensation analysts and other available comp tools.
• Offer Statuses - We currently have one accepted offer for an investor, with additional offers extended to an operations manager and a content/communications lead.
• Open roles will be listed on thegamingcatalyst.com early next week.

Deals

• Aligned due diligence process with legal, compliance, and finance tools/processes
• Final processing for 4 grants through the grants pipeline, with verticals supported across, game studios, esports, and other categories.
• Processing four venture deals through final terms / legal review, including gaming chains, gaming content, and distribution/publishing platforms.
• 5 co-investment structures under review with top publishers are currently building or will build on Arbitrum, to reinforce partner BD/marketing efforts.

Branding / Marketing / Comms / Events

• The GCP PR stack combines a broad-based approach using two firms that ensures alignment with the broader Arbitrum ecosystem while targeting specific gaming audiences. Our agency of record is Consort, a firm with deep expertise in the gaming industry and a proven track record. Notably, Consort supported King’s early growth well before the breakout success of Candy Crush Saga and its rise to dominance in social gaming.
• GCP has also partnered with Territory Studio - known for their work on Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and films such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Ex Machina, and The Martian - on a range of creative marketing, including our evolving website and other brand collateral.

Planned Activities for H1 2025

The roadmap below is pulled from the GCP transparency report and is designed to evolve as the team and program scale. We expect to further augment/adjust the roadmap based on data gathered from the wider industry and program feedback. See the green (complete) and yellow (partially complete) checkmarks against the activities for a view into the status of H1 below.

Other Key Updates

Investment / Grants Pipeline and Process: Fueling the Arbitrum Gaming Ecosystem

@CastleCapital

A primary focus of the GCP is to strategically support the growth of the Arbitrum gaming ecosystem. This involves a rigorous process for identifying and evaluating potential investments and grants.

Investment & Grants Committee Members:

• Tim Chang: Investment Committee Member; GCP Council Member​

• Dan Peng: GCP Partner​ & Member of Investment & Grants Committee

• Rick Johanson: GCP Partner​​ & Member of Investment & Grants Committee

• David Bolger: Grant Committee Member; GCP Council Member

As our venture and grants team grows, we will continue to refine and enhance our processes and structures to maintain the efficiency and quality of our evaluation process.

Process

To ensure a thorough and objective assessment, we follow a multi-stage Investment Committee (IC) process:

• GCP Screen One: This is the initial stage where we conduct a preliminary review of each project. This includes a product review, team evaluation, and a check for alignment with our investment thesis. At this stage, we’re looking for projects that demonstrate a strong founding team, a solid value proposition, and a promising first impression.

• GCP Screen Two: Projects that pass the initial screening progress to a more in-depth evaluation. This includes a technical evaluation, a comprehensive risk assessment, and reference checks. At this stage, we prioritize projects that exhibit a robust business model, significant traction, a clear vision, and well-managed risks.

• Investment Committee Review: Projects that successfully navigate the screening phases are presented to the Investment Committee. We provide the committee with detailed findings, proposed deal terms, and a clear rationale for investment or grant approval. The committee’s review focuses on verifying the project’s alignment with our core thesis and ensuring that the terms are favorable and risks are understood.

• Council Review: As an additional layer of oversight, the deal memo is shared with the Arbitrum Council. This allows the council to review the proposed investment or grant. If no objections are raised during the review period, the deal is cleared to proceed.

Investment Pipeline

Investment Pipeline Metrics: 88 Total Projects

• 38 - Initial Screening

• 19 - In Discussions

• 8 - Diligence Started

• 3 - Ready for IC Review

• 2 - IC Approved

• 4 - Final Legal / KYB

• 0 - Closed

Our support for the Arbitrum gaming ecosystem takes various forms, including equity/token investments, grants, and co-investment opportunities. Through this meticulous process, we aim to foster sustainable growth, drive innovation, and ultimately establish Arbitrum as a leading platform for gaming.

Grants Pipeline

The Grants Committee pipeline is a separate category, and we have moved 10 projects to final due diligence, with 4 projects in the final phases of DD / Legal Review. The projects in the final phases encapsulate several industries across game content, eSports/ecommerce infrastructure, player engagement platforms, and hybrid teams, and include native builders and net new entrants into Arbitrum’s ecosystem.

Game Developers Conference (GDC) Recap: Showcasing Arbitrum Gaming

@CastleCapital

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) recently concluded, and it was a significant event for the GCP and the Arbitrum gaming ecosystem. We had a strong presence with the goal of fostering collaboration and showcasing the potential of gaming on Arbitrum.

A key highlight was the Arbitrum Gaming Summit, a dedicated event that brought together key stakeholders within the Arbitrum gaming space. This summit served as a platform to strengthen relationships, spark new ideas, and collectively advance the vision for the future of gaming on Arbitrum.

Arbitrum Booth at the Game Developers Conference

Arbitrum Foundation, Offchain Labs, GCP team, and Council at Summit

Vision workshop session from Arbitrum Gaming Summit

In addition to the summit, the GCP engaged with attendees through:

• A GCP “Conversation Station” at the Arbitrum booth, providing a central point for information and interaction.

• GCP signage throughout the event to increase visibility and awareness.

• An Arbitrum Gaming and XAI co-sponsored happy hour with developers, VCs, the developer community, and members of the broader Arbitrum ecosystem to facilitate networking and relationship building.

Our presence at GDC reinforced Arbitrum’s growing prominence in the gaming sector and facilitated valuable connections to contribute to the ecosystem’s future growth. As a result, Arbitrum Gaming is seeing increased deal pipeline momentum and exploring several promising partnership opportunities.

We are excited to provide future content regarding the impact of GDC and the work carried out specifically at the Summit.

DAO Communications: Strengthening Our Connection with the Arbitrum DAO

As previously announced, we have partnered with Castle Labs to support our DAO relations initiatives. Castle Labs brings deep expertise in crypto-native research, governance, and content strategy, with the bonus of being deeply embedded in the Arbitrum ecosystem.

This new role has been in the pipeline for over a month, with Castle engaged directly at ETHDenver, and onboarding conversations following immediately afterward.

@rickjohanson

To demonstrate our commitment to transparency and better engagement, we are excited to announce two key actions:

• Castle Labs (@castlecapital) has joined the Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP) as our dedicated DAO Relations partner.

• The GCP is also hiring a Content Strategist to proactively support communications around program progress, portfolio updates, and broader industry insights, complementing Castle’s DAO-focused work and rounding out the GCP comms stack.

Addressing Your Feedback

• Consistent Updates: Castle Labs will implement a structured communication calendar to ensure timely, clear, and recurring updates.

• Direct Engagement: Castle will help facilitate two-way engagement channels between GCP and the DAO to ensure questions and feedback are heard and addressed promptly.

GCP Foundation Vesting

The Arbitrum Foundation is currently in custody of the majority of GCP allocated ARB tokens, and the Council / AF / GCP have agreed to a vesting structure that equips the GCP with the ability to execute on grants and investments while maintaining a safeguard for the DAO.

GCP vesting structure:

• 40m ARB unlocked on 1st Jan 2025 (was delayed until March 2025 while bylaws were refined and finalized)
• 20m ARB unlocked every quarter from the start date above.

This structure has been reviewed extensively by the Council and AF.

Confirmation from the Arbitrum Foundation has previously been made here:

@Arbitrum

To set context, the address that received 40M ARB in December and 20M ARB last week, is also controlled by the Arbitrum Foundation. As noted here, 40M ARB was distributed to the GCP Foundation last week as per its vesting timeline.

We can also confirm that an entity for the GCP has been set up. Please refer to @Djinn 's comment to see the respective documents.

@Djinn

Our corporate entity docs were updated on our site here as of 3/23/25 (scroll to the bottom): https://thegamingcatalyst.com/

Closing Remarks

We are early on our new communication journey and will take some time to ramp up. That being said, we will be looking at delivering the following standalone topics in the coming weeks and months:

• How the program intends to communicate with the DAO, in what depth, and at what cadence
• How the program is considering ARB price volatility in its strategy
• How the program strategically thinks about market dynamics, portfolio construction, its evolving investment thesis, and how the DAO will see return/value from the program
• Clarifying KPIs and metrics to help define success/failure and assist delegates and the DAO determine what, if any, steps/processes should be taken to adjust the program (pivots, additional funding, clawback, etc) - these may also help future strategic programs structure their performance metrics and expectations

Your ongoing feedback and support are essential as we collectively drive gaming forward. If you have any questions or would like to discuss gaming on Arbitrum, please feel free to contact @Insomniac, @Atomist, @Djinn, or @rickjohanson.