Mobile publisher CrowdStar has raised $11.5 million in a recent round of funding following the news that the company will shift its efforts entirely into mobile.

The money came from existing investors including Time Warner, Intel Capital, YouWeb, The9, and NV Investments, bringing the company's total to $35 million.

The shift in focus will see CrowdStar ditching Facebook in favour of mobile games, citing the platform's faster growth, lower user acquisition and production costs over the social network.

"Mobile is the much bigger opportunity," said CrowdStar CEO Peter Relan.

"The purpose of this round is to double down on mobile."

Shifting perspectives

Relan hinted the firm's expansion into new territories suggesting that expanding CrowdStar's efforts to China could see its mobile audience double, adding that news of the company's international plans would surface "shortly."

In April, CrowdStar confirmed its plans to halt development of new games for Facebook and shift 90 percent of their operations onto mobile games.

CrowdStar will continue to support its existing Facebook titles but plans to downsize those teams in the transition.

[source: VentureBeat]