Former CD Projekt dev art Dark Passenger raises $3m
Funding round led by The Games Fund, Warsaw-based studio working on multiplayer action game
Polish studio Dark Passenger, which was founded by former Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 developers, has completed a funding round to the tune of $3 million.
The seed round was led by The Games Fund, with investment from Blite Fund. The funding will go towards development of Dark Passenger's debut project, a unannounced first-person multiplayer stealth-action game set in an original universe based on Feudal Japan.
It will also help expand the team, which currently sits at around 30 members. The studio aims to reach a headcount of over 60 by the time the game launches.
Dark Passenger was formed two years ago by former CD Projekt staff, including co-founders Jakub Ben and Paweł Kuleta. Also on the team is Marcin Michalski, who served as senior environment artists on The Witcher 3.
Other team members previously worked at People Can Fly, Flying Wild Hog, Reikon, RealTime Warriors and more.
"While the multiplayer landscape is more exciting than ever, we still see vast untapped potential," said Ben, CEO of Dark Passenger. "It takes imagination, trust, and vision to fully understand our direction, and these are the qualities we found in The Games Fund.
"This investment is a game-changer for us—it’s helped expand our team and set the foundations for our project, allowing us to focus on production."
The Games Fund's co-founder and managing partner Ilia Eremeev added: "There’s a shortage of games that dare to take risks and deliver bold, unapologetic experiences, leaving players craving that 'Hell yeah!' factor. After seeing their early demo, we instantly recognized that Dark Passenger is set to deliver exactly that.
"The quality of the experience, given the team’s size and development time, was astonishing. We immediately aligned with their vision: an exciting, undiluted power fantasy. We’re thrilled to partner with these great founders on this adventure."