Financials
Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal drives record $86 billion in games industry deals in 2023
“We predict M&A activity to steadily increase again in 2024”
Empowering Gamers
Rize.gg wraps up pre-seed round, raises $430,000 to train and empower gamers
The company intends to allocate these funds to advance the platform's development and broaden its user base
Fitness & Gaming
Talofa Games secures $6.3 Million to build fitness-focused games
The team will use its newly secured funding to engineer and develop Run Legends as well as create new titles
New Studio
Playdemic founders raise $10m for new UK mobile studio ForthStar
Paul Gouge and Alex Rigby head up the new Manchester studio following their $1 billion success with Golf Clash
Flagship Funds
Leslie Benzies' Build A Rocket Boy studio raises $110M for "flagship" trio of projects
RedBird Capital Partners leads investment in Build A Rocket Boy’s Everywhere, MindsEye and Arcadia
A Strong Start
Pine Games secures $2.25M for mobile game development in Istanbul
The team currently has four staff and plans to grow that number to 15 for the creation of IP-based mobile games
Pgc London
Pocket Gamer Connects London: The Show Me The Money track
Explore investment advice and funding ideas next Tuesday, January 23rd
Rallying Relief
Capcom and Square Enix donate millions in relief funds to support victims of Japan earthquake
Donations of ¥120 million and ¥50 million from two of Japan's gaming giants will support victims of the earthquake and rebuilding efforts
Ai-powered Games
ArenaX Labs raises $6M for AI-driven game development
The company aims to use gaming as a way of educating players and gain a greater of understanding as to the workings of artificial intelligence
Second Round
Marvel Snap dev Second Dinner raises $100 million
Studio to invest in Marvel Snap live ops and new game development
Sprouting Seeds
Barnyard Games raises $3.4m in seed round to make games for Fortnite
Menlo Ventures led the round with participation from BetaWorks, Alumni Ventures, Charge VC and others
Here We Go
W4 Games raises $15 million to boost Godot engine development and services
Irish start-up aims to double headcount over the next 18 months
Support From Supercell
Supercell co-founder supports $1.6M funding round in Chinese publisher MyGamez
Supercell co-founder Mikko Kodisoja, Small Giant Games co-founder Timo Soininen, Reworks co-founder Ilkka Teppo and former Riot China head of operations Daniel Wang are on board
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s path to fame, a Chinese gacha hit and 20M in Web3 funding
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Nft Now
NFTs incoming: Matr1x doubles funding to $20M ahead of its debut Web3 mobile launch
Matr1x Fire is an upcoming NFT shooter on mobile, bolstered by new $10 million funding round
Production Power
Layer AI seed round raises $1.8M to bolster generative game art production
The AI-powered productivity tool sees support from The Games Fund, GFR Fund and others
Very Noice
Games livestreaming start-up Noice raises $21 million
New company aims to blend multiplayer gaming with livestreaming
Funding Success
TapNation generates $16.1 million in latest funding round
The round included the participation of Re-Sources Capital and Paluel-Marmont Capital
First Round Funding
Istanbul-based game studio SuperGears successfully completes first investment round led by TMRW foundation
SuperGears first investment round is based upon a valuation of $10 million and will add Crytek founder Cevat Yerli to the board of directors
Hot Five
Hot Five: Web3 tactics gaming, FunPlus’ latest soft launch and a bunch of new investments
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Investment Round
Casual games hub Playbite nabs $1 million in funding
US-based company aims to expand on its userbase of "several hundred thousand" monthly active users
Investments
Developer Funstop secures $1.5 million funding from Indian investors
InfoEdge continue their investment in home-grown talent as part of India's increasingly vibrant mobile tech scene
Ai Advancement
Harmony Games raises $3M in seed round to build an AI puzzle game
The seed round was led by Griffin Gaming Partners
Vc Funding
The games industry drew $454 million in VC funding in the third quarter of 2023
The figure represents a 9% decline from the previous quarter
Uk Gaming Scene
Ukie's new manifesto demands an increase in government funding for video games
They claim that the UK’s lack of investment sees it lose out on an estimated £133 million per year
Forge Finds Funding
Riot-backed Forge raises $11M to launch a platform rewarding gamer communities
Makers Fund, Animoca Brands and Bitkraft Ventures led the round
Studio Seed
Krafton invests $7M in former Riot and Blizzard artist’s Studio Sai
The Seed Round comes after the success of Eternights and will support development of Sai’s next game
Better Than Betting
Omada raises $7.5M for a sports game with a twist: tackling gambling addiction
Money isn’t spent or won on bets, providing a healthier alternative
Mythic Manoeuvres
Mythic Protocol raises $6.5M towards blockchain, collaboration and cross-platform ambitions
Founder Igor Tanzil wants to avoid the trap of "squandered" potential by "frenzied financialisation"
Vc Report
Gaming drew $1.1 billion in VC funding in the second quarter of 2023
110 VC deals were struck across the games industry
Success In Funding
British developer Scriptic raises $6.2 million in second seed round
The round includes investment from Sony Innovation fund
Success In Funding
Play Ventures’ Fund I sees 1.5x return in less than four years
The fund has 20 titles in its portfolio
Funding
Zibra AI raises $500,000 from a16z Speedrun
The funding brings the company's total investment so far to $2.5 million
Artificial Intelligence
AI startup Inworld raises another $50 million for a $500 million valuation
The new investment follows the company’s work on AI-driven non-player character experiences
Indie Funding
Google opens applications for its latest Indie Games Fund
The tech giant will distribute $2 million to small studios in Latin America
Venture Funding
Valhalla Ventures launches $66 million fund for gaming investment
The firm is targeting “audacious entrepreneurs” across games and mobile
Australian Investment
Screen Australia invests $3 million into gaming as part of the country’s digital entertainment goals
The fund sees 23 games with budgets below $500,000 receive fresh cash influxes
Investment
More Turkish investment as Fortune Mine Games closes $2m seed round
The move reflects a wide and varied amount of investment in Türkiye
Investment
Binance Labs commits $15 million to web3 games platform Xterio
The investment will see Xterio integrate AI and launch its token on the BNB chain ecosystem
Bring It On
Skill-based game developer Bring It On raises $4 million in seed funding
The company will invest the money in the creation of skill-based games
Konvoy Report
Venture Capital funding fell 38% in Q2 2023
Despite the decline, the gaming industry is on track to hit $201 billion this year
Finding Funds
Mythical Games raises a further $37million, hitting a valuation of over $1billion
Investors include Animoca Brands, MoonPay and veterans from Activision Blizzard
Investment
Scriptic raises $5.7m in funding for AI-driven narrative mobile games
The round was led by perennial investor Bitkraft Ventures
Finding Funds
Pixion Games raises $5.5 million for Web3 RPG Fableborne
Investments come from Blizzard, Shima Capital and more
Series Surge
In-game Ads solution Anzu raises $48M in Series B funding
Funding round led by Emmis Corporation and supported by many new high-profile investors
Investment
SuperScale raises $5.4m in Series A funding round
The scaling firm raised €5 million as part of the funding
Success In Funding
Animoca Brands subsidiary Anichess raises $1.5 million in seed round
The company is working on a decentralised chess game
Developer Funding
Avatar tech company Genies unveils $1 million developer engagement fund
The fund is for developers building AR experiences for a new social network
Investment
Mobile fashion title Drest acquires £15m in new funding round
The mobile dress-up game has collaborated with numerous fashion brands
Investment
Turkish mobile startup Fuse Games receives $2m investment
The studio is making a big play of the use of artificial intelligence in the creation their games