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Finnish educational games developer Lightneer secures €2.8 million funding as Peter Vesterbacka joins studio

Total funding stands at nearly $4 million

Date Type Companies involved Size
September 14th, 2016 investment Lightneer $3.2m
Finnish educational games developer Lightneer secures €2.8 million funding as Peter Vesterbacka joins studio

Finnish educational games developer Lightneer has raised €2.8 million ($3.16 million) in funding.

The financing round was led by venture capital funds GSV Acceleration, which invested €1.8 million ($2.03 million), and IPR.VC, which gave €1 million ($1.13 million) to the studio.

Total investment in Lightneer now stands at €3.5 million ($3.94 million).

All-star team

The studio has also brought on board former Rovio Mighty Eagle Peter Vesterbacka as its new ‘brand breaker’ and company evangelist.

The company has also formed a new advisory board. It has appointed former Mattel and Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske and Games Workshop co-founder Ian Livingstone as advisors.

The board also includes Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, and Visiting Professor of Practice Pasi Sahlberg from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Lighneer’s first game, role-playing puzzler Big Bang Legends, brings elements of the periodic table to life as collectible characters. The developer hopes to teach users about physics and chemistry while playing.

Big Bang Legends will be released globally on iOS and Android in 2017.

The game has been developed in collaboration with experts from CERN and the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.


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Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.