Why Investors Keep Betting on Gardens

Three years after raising a $31.3M Series A off a prototype shown behind closed doors at GDC, Gardens Interactive still hasn’t announced a release date. Investors just put in another $35M+ anyway. In this episode, Kalie Moore welcomes back Stephen Bell and Chris Bell, two of Gardens’ three co-founders and the team behind Journey, Sky, What Remains of Edith Finch and Blaseball, following a Series B led by Lightspeed that values the studio at $190M and brings total funding past $70M before launch. They explain what took three years, including a late switch from Unity to Unreal, how Chris handed the CEO role to Stephen to focus fully on the game, and what Gardens actually is now that it can speak for itself: an online survival roleplaying “strandbox” where players cross paths with strangers, build relationships, and reshape the world together. Stephen pushes back on the friendslop label and the idea that jank is a weakness, and Chris shares how a single image in an inspiration folder led to a cold DM to Ma-ko, the artist whose work now defines the game’s look. The conversation also gets into the money. Stephen explains why the round leaned on traditional VCs rather than gaming funds, what separates Gardens from the wave of veteran-led studios that raised big in the zero interest rate era without breaking out, and why the reported “one year of runway after release” doesn’t tell the full story. He’s candid that this isn’t a funding recovery so much as a concentration, and why he thinks games are now underfunded rather than overfunded. They also cover how Lightspeed sees human connection as a bet that gets more valuable as AI spreads, why their proprietary tech blends procedural generation with hand-authored content, how they measure success in playtests by the stories and relationships players report, and how they’re approaching monetization with former Valve economist Mike Ambinder, starting with one firm rule: Gardens will never be pay to win. We’d also like to thank Tebex for making this episode possible! With funding tight, the question isn’t just how big a game can get but how long a studio can run, and that starts with knowing what each sale actually returns. Tebex’s free Hidden Fees Calculator compares your provider’s headline rate with your true effective rate, including FX, payment method and chargeback costs, and shows the annual difference. Check it out here and learn more about Tebex at https://www.tebex.io/. If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co. 00:00 - Start 01:53 - Introduction: Gardens Three Years Later 03:54 - Why Chris Handed Over the CEO Role 05:06 - What Took Three Years 08:21 - What Gardens Actually Is 10:23 - Why Gardens Isn’t Friendslop 14:10 - Finding the Art Style 18:53 - The Cold DM That Defined the Game’s Look 19:25 - Building a World That Feels Larger Than You 24:44 - Why Traditional VCs Led the Round 27:50 - Learning From the ZIRP-Era Studio Cohort 31:16 - The Runway Question 33:44 - Measuring Success by Stories and Relationships 36:00 - Is Game Studio Funding Really Back? 39:19 - Human Connection in an AI World 42:40 - Monetization Lessons From Sky 45:10 - What They Want to Say After Launch And as always, if you enjoyed the episode, make sure to subscribe and leave a like or comment! Also, feel free to drop a note in our mailbag at podcast@naavik.co. Who’s On: Guests Stephen Bell:   / sbellgardens   Chris Bell:   / gardenschris   Host - Kalie Moore:   / kaliemoore   More from Naavik For more episodes and listening options: https://naavik.co/podcast Free newsletter: https://naavik.co/digest Contact us: https://naavik.co/contact-us Follow Us Website: https://naavik.co/ Twitter:   / naavik_co   LinkedIn:   / naavik-co   Sound and Video Design Gavin Mc Cabe:   / gavin-mc-cabe-557339227   Links mentioned: https://gardens.dev/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl... https://gardens.firstlook.gg/signup/c...