Rise of Fearless raises $1M seed to relaunch its African-story battle royale
What's the deal? Rise of FearlessDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an African-owned mobile battle royale inspired by Ethiopia's 1896 victory at the Battle of Adwa, has raised $1 million in a seed round led by Epic Edges Capital. The funding, structured as a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), will go toward talent, technology, infrastructure, marketing, and community building.
Who's involved? The round brings in a group of international games executives as service providers who hold no equity and earn no royalties. Miniboss SolutionsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → will act as an embedded publishing partner, IDG Intelligence will supply market research, Trick Question Studios will handle creative direction, and Spectra Entertainment will lead art and technical development.
Why now? The game launched in 2025 and has passed 15,000 downloads, with its largest communities in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa. Founder Kanessa Muluneh says about 50,000 players are active today, though promotion stopped months ago to onboard the new team. She plans to take the game offline for an upgrade and relaunch within weeks. "Quality matters first," she said.
What's the endgame? Rise of Fearless earns only from advertising so far, and payments remain its main hurdle. Few African markets let players pay online easily, so Muluneh plans to pair online options such as Xsolla with offline gift cards and codes. Her short-term goal is 100,000 players.
What about Web3? An earlier report described Rise of Fearless as a Web3 game where players would earn in-game NFT collectibles. Muluneh now says blockchain and pay-to-earn features remain an option, but not a priority.
The signal: The raise lands against a market growing faster than the studios serving it. Newzoo and Carry1st forecast Africa's player base will pass 406 million in 2026, with revenue reaching $1.98 billion, yet a 2025 report from KPMG and Maliyo GamesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → found only 3% of 66 studios surveyed had reached $1 million in revenue. Muluneh wants to keep the game's intellectual property in African hands: "The brilliant ones don't have to leave the continent to build," she said.
Read more: thecondia.com
Image credit: Mobilephotos@heidenstrom
