Seattle indie developer Starform has closed a $6 million funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures, with additional participation from Dune Ventures, the company announced November 12. The raise pushes Starform's total funding past $13 million and will bankroll player acquisition plus engineering hires for its 5v5 aerial combat game Metalstorm.

What does the round fund?

Starform will split the capital across two priorities: growing the Metalstorm player base and expanding its development team. Studio leadership framed the strategy around short-session, cross-platform play rather than longer single-player campaigns.

"We believe in crafting short-session experiences that unite players across platforms," CEO and co-founder Lou Fasulo said. "Metalstorm is all about facilitating connections—whether among friends or new acquaintances—through shared, thrilling gameplay that fits seamlessly into busy schedules."

Metalstorm currently runs on Google Play, the Apple App Store, and the Epic Games Store. Starform has confirmed additional platform launches for 2025 but has not named which storefronts or hardware targets it plans to enter.

How big is the Metalstorm audience?

The game has logged 3 million players across mobile and PC since its public launch in 2023. Starform has not disclosed how that audience splits between the two form factors, nor daily active user counts.

Metalstorm's core loop is team-based air combat: two squads of five pilots square off in historically-inspired planes. Each aircraft carries unique abilities drawn from its real-world capabilities. Starform has not tied the new round to a monetization shift, and the existing model on mobile and Epic's PC storefront continues.

Who is funding the studio?

• Lead: BITKRAFT Ventures
• Participant: Dune Ventures

This round extends Starform's funding history, which includes prior raises in 2019 and 2021. All four co-founders—Fasulo, Taylor Daynes, Josh Rosen, and Jason English—previously worked at Seattle mobile studio Z2, which King acquired in 2015. Several Z2 alumni have re-emerged across Seattle's indie and mid-tier mobile studios since that buyout closed.

Where does this deal sit in the market?

The raise lands inside a measured thaw for games venture capital. PitchBook's Q3 2024 gaming report tracked four consecutive quarters of rising total deal value after a two-year contraction that followed the post-COVID boom. PitchBook's aggregate figures are estimates, drawn from disclosed rounds and modeled on private market activity.

Starform has not named a release window for its next Metalstorm platform push beyond 2025, nor signaled any console SKU plans or controller support. Studios watching the round will track which storefronts the studio adds next, and whether the 3 million player base converts into a sustained cross-platform revenue line.