Saga Origins plots non-web3 deals as it appoints new head of gaming investments

Saga Origins, the publishing arm of web3 outfit Saga Protocol, has recruited Samsung alum Fernando Vasconez as its new head of gaming investments and partnerships as it eyes new deals in 2025.

Founded in 2022, Saga is a developer ecosystem for crypto and web3 gaming. Its early seed investors include Com2uS, Samsung and Polygon, among others. Despite its web3 foundations, the company is expanding to work with more traditional mobile, PC and console games as a publisher.

Vasconez, who previously served as the senior director of business development, USA for Samsung, will spearhead Saga’s drive to identify, nurture and invest in new gaming projects and strategic partnerships.

“The greatest opportunity lies within the exceptional teams and technology in the web2 gaming space,” Vasconez told PocketGamer.biz.

“I’ve already had the opportunity to enter discussions regarding some innovative, creative games and teams, and I’ve found a great sense of fulfillment in being able to invest in the future of gaming. We also have some very exciting things coming that I can’t speak about just yet. 

“While we are not earmarking specific investments and aren’t feeling pressure to deploy capital quickly, we have sufficient resources in our war chest to collaborate with other major funds and family offices.”

"Speculative instruments"

Significant investment has gone into the web3 gaming space, but there has been little return on mass market projects following initial hype. Telegram gaming, utilising the The Open Network (TON) blockchain, saw a surge in popularity in 2024, attracting a rumoured 20% of its 950 million user base. But elsewhere, success has been muted.

“The key challenge so far is that most web3 games have been developed as financial speculative instruments, rather than focusing on creating products that bring joy to users and drive long-term retention,” said Vasconez.

“I see web3 as an additional technology that can help build great products and communities, but this only happens when you have outstanding teams that truly understand how a game should be built, played, and monetised.”

When it comes to why Saga is now investing beyond web3, Vasconez added: “Web3 is the technology stack, and we will be investing in exceptional teams that will create amazing products to bring joy to users. Upcoming blockchain developments and future announcements will provide more clarity on our initiatives.”

Investment landscape

While games industry M&A has continued somewhat - including notable recent deals for Easybrain and Plarium - general investment is still recovering after a challenging few years for the market.

Vasconez said it’s not yet clear whether 2025 will be a good year on this front, but it will be assessing the market regardless.

“If the market improves, prices will rise; if the market remains the same, prices may stagnate, and consolidation might continue to be on hold,” he said.

“The only certainty is that past performance doesn't define future outcomes. We will only be able to evaluate whether this was a good or bad year once it's over. At SAGA, we are clear on what we need to achieve, not just in 2025 but over the next five years.”

Vasconez will be attending Pocket Gamer Connects London on January 20th to 21st.