LinkedIn · May 2026
Nathaniel Ventura said Ruffnauts had become a top-rated Meta Quest game and that Vinci Games was hiring for senior technical art, level design, and 3D art roles.
Creating genre-defining multiplayer VR games.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 30, 2026
Overview
Vinci Games is a Berkeley-based YC S22 VR game studio building social multiplayer XR experiences, best known publicly for Blacktop Hoops and Ruffnauts. Public evidence points to a small distributed team, strong Quest traction, and a product-led model centered on VR game sales plus live/free-to-play content.
Primary product
Ruffnauts
Founded
2021
Headquarters
Berkeley, California, United States
Team size
1-10 employees
Work style
Flexible
Industry
Computer Games
Sub-industry
Virtual Reality / XR game studio
Offices
Berkeley, California, United States
San Francisco, California, United States (mailing address / preferred hybrid location)
Distributed across the United States, Poland, and Denmark
Business model
premium game sales
free-to-play
in-app purchases
live-service content
Funding
Stage
Seed
Total raised
$5.8M
Latest round
Seed VC - III · Nov 2025
Nov 2025 · Lobster Capital
Apr 2023 · Makers Fund
Aug 2022 · Y Combinator
People & investors
Work & culture
Small, fast-moving, player-feedback-driven studio that prototypes in headset, iterates quickly, and leans on a distributed/remote-friendly team.
Work style
Flexible
Visa sponsorship
Limited
Compensation
Public hiring posts show contract-to-hire roles around $50-$125/hour depending on role and experience; full-time conversion may include salary, benefits, and equity.
Product & market
Pricing
Blacktop Hoops is a premium title priced at $29.99; Ruffnauts is free-to-play in alpha with in-app purchases/bundles and cosmetic/live content signals.
Differentiators
- —Combines social VR with sports and creature-collection gameplay
- —Uses expressive locomotion and physics-driven interactions
- —Blacktop Hoops shipped cross-platform on Meta Quest, Pico, and Steam
- —Community-driven development via Discord and frequent player testing
- —High review volume and strong ratings on Meta Quest
- —Veteran team with VR and AAA game-development experience
Technology
Unity
Unreal Engine
C#
Blender
Autodesk Maya
Photoshop
Houdini
ZBrush
Jira
Asana
Discord
Twitch
YouTube
Instagram
Facebook
X/Twitter
Unity Shader Graph
Amplify Shader Editor
Customers
Meta Quest players
VR sports fans
social VR players
kids and teens interested in creature-collection adventures
Competitors
Gorilla Tag
Rec Room
NBA 2K VR
Pickup Basketball VR
other social VR and VR sports titles on Meta Quest
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
$1M-$10M
Latest news
GamesBeat · Nov 2025
GamesBeat and Lightspeed highlighted Vinci Games among the 2026 Game Changers, with the recognition amplified on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square.
LinkedIn · Jul 2025
Nathaniel Ventura announced Ruffnauts alpha timing and described the product as a space exploration and creature-collecting game for Meta Quest.
Business Wire · May 2024
Vinci Games launched Blacktop Hoops on Meta Quest, Pico, and Steam, with pricing at $29.99 and cross-platform availability.
Business Wire · Apr 2023
Vinci Games raised a $5.1M seed round led by Makers Fund with participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Pioneer Fund, Anorak Ventures, BonAngels, and Kevin Lin.
Jobs and careers at Vinci Games
0 jobs at Vinci Games
No open positions
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