Sure, it's had a checkered history in recent years, but its alumni have been involved with some of the city's most successful developers, including Pot Farm developer East Side Games.
Eruptive Games now joins the racks of those hoping to build something substantial on its monetisation expertise.
Crossing the streams
Like many others, Eruptive is targeting a free-to-play midcore audience; its first Facebook release was Mercenaries of War, and it's just launched Citizen GRIM.
This will also be published by Zynga on Facebook and its new web portal later in the summer, with a mobile companion game - GRIM Offspring due in the autumn.
"Mobile is a big part of our push, but only part," explains CEO Julian Ing, who as well as working at Super Rewards and Kaboom Social Games in the past, is a serial entrepreneur in his own right.
"We're not just about a game. We're about an IP, a brand, that will bridge the multiplatform ecosystem."
VIP IP
That's the plan for the GRIM world, which places a zombie-inspired survival action gameplay within an alternative 1940s setting, throwing in some B movie elements for good luck.
"We're closet zombie lovers, but this is edgier and doesn't follow the conventions," Ing explains.
As well as the games, there's a graphic novel in production with plans underway for movie licensing.
"You can have a big hit game on one platform, but it's hard to sustain. What's it going to be in a year?" he questions.
"With a brand, you can keep circulating your fans across different media."
Broad and deep
Ing also argues the games' target - a midcore audience - is crucial for success.
"Companies like Kixeye are proving you can generate a lot of revenue with a relative small number of players," he says.
"Going midcore means we can attract hardcore as well as opening up to other players."
This is reflected in Citizen GRIM's gameplay, with core 60-90 second play sessions, combined with richer gameplay for those who want to play longer. Added to the game's universe and multiple incarnations, it's how Ing hopes to generate a 'cult-like following'.
"We're looking for an audience that will be engaged for 24 or 36 months," he says.
Big buddy
Of course, getting an audience in the first place remains an issue.
The $1.1 million Eruptive has raised in seed funding to-date isn't enough to fuel a marketing campaign, which is why it's partnered up with Zynga.
"You need $5-10 million to build substantial traffic or you need a publisher," Ing says.
"Zynga has critical mass. It has a lot of traffic and it's putting a lot of effort into its publishing activities."
Without going into details, he described the deal as being open, flexible and win-win. Eruptive keeps the IP, gaining plenty of eyeballs on Citizen GRIM, while Zynga reduces its dependence on Facebook as it creates a channel it's in control of.
The next step
As for Eruptive, it expect to end 2012 with the release of GRIM Offspring on mobile providing another touch point for its audience.
"We don't want to put out just another mobile game," Ing states.
"This is a new frontier. A lot of companies are acting headless, and there are a lot of road blocks to innovation. But that's what we want to do. Make something that's new and fun.
"We're going to something once and do it right."
