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Sneaky Panda raises $6 million for novel 'luck-puzzler' mobile games

Debut title scheduled to release next year

Date Type Companies involved Size
November 26th, 2021 investment Bitkraft Ventures
Sneaky Panda
$6m
Sneaky Panda raises $6 million for novel 'luck-puzzler' mobile games

Israeli mobile games developer Sneaky Panda has raised $6 million following a seed funding round.

The funding round was led by Bitkraft Ventures and featured participation from FireArc and Remagine Ventures, as well as angel investors, including Joakim Achrén and Eyal Chomski.

Founded by mobile game veterans, Jelly Button co-founder Ron Rejwan and Upopa Games co-founder Niv Touboul, the studio has plans to release the first game in a new genre it calls ‘luck-puzzler’.

Sneaky Panda’s debut game in this new genre is set to launch next year, targeting teens and adults, with gameplay involving collecting items and strategic play.

The intended use for the funding is to recruit additional talent to the team at Sneaky Panda’s Israel-based headquarters.

A new genre

"I’ve found that the best way to dominate a market is to create it," said Sneaky Panda CEO and co-founder Ron Rejwan.

"During my time at Jelly Button, we introduced Pirate Kings which brought the social casino genre to life and now generates billions of dollars a year.

The mobile gaming market is saturated with companies that are trying to make better versions of existing products, but our approach at Sneaky Panda is to introduce the ‘luck-puzzler’ genre, a completely new genre that puts more emphasis on skill and strategy than current mobile games in the market. A new generation of mobile players have emerged and they are ready for more diverse and challenging gameplay experiences.”

Bitkraft Ventures founding partner Malte Barth commented: "Ron and Niv are highly experienced, extremely versatile, driven entrepreneurs whose speed and quality of execution is outstanding. Mobile gaming represents one of the fastest-growing gaming platforms worldwide and the market is ripe for genre innovations."

"The Sneaky Panda team is creating a completely new genre in the mobile gaming space and we believe there is a sizable audience that play puzzle and luck games that will appreciate the innovative design of Sneaky Panda’s first title and become a loyal community."

This week, UK-based indie games developer Pocket Burger Games raised $1 million to develop casual mobile titles.


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