Video game publisher and developer Kwalee has invested €1.5 million into French mobile game studio 8SEC. The move will see Kwalee’s CFO Matthew Farrow and VP of mobile publishing John Wright join the 8SEC board.

While maintaining independent operations in Paris and Lyon, the French company will now leverage Kwalee's extensive global team and specialised expertise in user acquisition, monetisation, game design and data science. The British firm has a dedicated publishing team that's committed to transforming game concepts into successful and profitable ventures.

8SEC has released more than 90 mobile games, garnering over 50 million game downloads, including popular titles like Trivia.io, Hero Squad, and Idle Army. By adopting the hybrid-casual mobile game style, they offer easy-to-play titles that are designed for extended play to generate revenue through ads and in-app purchases.

A significant milestone

Louis Giraud, CEO of 8SEC said, “This collaboration marks a significant milestone for both organisations as we join forces to create incredible games that will push the hybrid-casual mobile market into the next generation. We're very excited for the future and are impatient to show the world the incredible project we're working on together!”

This marks Kwalee's second strategic investment in France, coming after they acquired casual narrative game platform Tictales in 2022. Also, it aligns with their recent Development and Publishing Agreement with the KSA's Fahy Studios and we spoke to Fahy on how the partnership can further grow the gaming scene in Saudi Arabia.

“We’re delighted to invest in talented game studios like 8SEC, expand our reach in the market and collaborate to help them reach even greater success” said Kwalee’s CEO David Darling CBE. The CEO added that 8SEC's values align seamlessly with Kwalee's commitment to creating enjoyable games for players worldwide and will provide support to scale games on a global level.