Big Investment
Mobile marketing tech firm Ogury picks up $21m investment
Company generated $100m in 2018
Launch
Real-money competition platform Flashbreak launches with $2 million in seed funding
The app will act as both a publishing platform and a real-money competition hub
Invested
Bristol dev Auroch Digital raises investment from Miniclip and Bristol Private Equity Club
Equity firm fronts over $200,000 for Auroch’s new projects and local dev scene work
$$$$$
Report: Global games company investment more than doubled to $5.7bn in 2018
More than double the year prior
Bank On It
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery maker Jam City lands $145m
Funding led by JPMorgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Silicon Valley Bank, SunTrust Bank and CIT Bank
Big Deal
Pokemon Go dev Niantic raises $245 million at $4 billion valuation
Further M&A activity a possibility says Niantic spokesperson
Investment
Last chance to sign up for Investor Connector at Pocket Gamer Connects London
Applications closing for one-one-one investment meetings at January show
Funding Go
Pokemon Go dev Niantic pulls in $190 million investment
Studio has raised around $420m so far at an estimated $3.9 billion valuation
Struck A Chord
Games chat platform Discord raises $150 million at $2bn valuation
Funding round led by Greenoaks Capital
Invested
Atomico's Alexis Bonte on what's to come for the investment landscape in the games industry
"I believe that with the lower valuations and rising marketing costs we are going to see continued consolidation in the industry"
Block In The Chain
Atari makes strategic investment in blockchain specialist and mobile publisher Animoca Brands
Hong Kong-floated publisher set to bring Rollercoaster Tycoon Touch and Good Squad to the blockchain
Fund 'em All
Report: Pokemon Go developer Niantic eyes new $200m funding round
Would raise company valuation to $3.9 billion
Insight
Execution Labs’ Jason Della Rocca: “No one is in the business of solving your lack of money problem”
Investment expert advises on the common pitfalls and best practices to acquire funding for your games
Funded
UK games industry receives a tasty slice of the government’s $25.5 million creative industries boost
Games in education program Digital Schoolhouse to receive $255,000 in funding
Investment
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 launches Investor Connector
Making it easier than ever to get one-on-one time with investors that are ready to spend
Early Bird Expands
Mobile still has ‘plenty of opportunity’ says Henric Suuronen, launching $30 million Play Ventures fund
Ex-angel investor upscales
Funding Round
New US publisher Nifty Games raises $3m for mobile-first sports games
Early investors include aXiomatic Gaming and venture capital firms March Capital Partners and Defy.VC
Funding
Super.com will support Unreal Engine projects with a new $50 million investment fund
Funding site is looking for independent Unreal developers of all levels of expertise
Funding News
Activision Blizzard vets raise $16m for item-based blockchain gaming platform
Mythical Games aims to deploy platform using the EOS blockchain
On Call
Bunch raises $3.8 million to develop its mobile video call app
Funds will be used to expand user acquisition and developer platform efforts
Real
Mixed reality monetisation startup Admix raises $2.1 million
SpeedInvest leads funding round for the AR and VR advertising platform
Smart Move?
Clash Royale dev Supercell invests $5.6m in smartwatch experts Everywear Games
"With Supercell supporting us we can now focus on our long-term vision"
Is That Safe?
Voice-based games developer Drivetime raises $4m in funds to make games for drivers
Funding includes Zynga co-founders Mark Pincus, Eric Schiermeyer and Justin Waldron along with Applovin founder Adam Foroughi
Top Stuff
Global Top Round names the 10 games and studios chosen for this year’s accelerator
Final ten studios are eligible for up to $300,000 of investment from GTR
Invest
Overwolf raises $16 million in a funding round led by Intel Capital
Platform intends to use the funding to accelerate its developer network and produce more tools
Funding Chain
CryptoKitties creator Dapper Labs secures $15 million investment to bring blockchain to the mainstream
Blockchain company wants to bring technology into the mainstream
Epic Stuff
Fortnite developer Epic Games raises $1.25 billion in funding from over half a dozen investors
Seven new investors become minority shareholders in the Fortnite and Unreal developer
Funding Reality
Ex-King games guru Tommy Palm's VR studio Resolution Games raises $7.5m
Valued at $87.5 million
Dead On
Chinese outfit GAEA snaps up 20% stake in Fallout Shelter dev Behaviour Interactive
The pair are currently co-developing a Game of Thrones game for mobile
On Cloud 9
Esports outfit Cloud9 scoops up $50m Series B funding round
Valor Equity Partners leads investment
Deal
Advance snaps up majority stake in games analytics firm Newzoo
The media company will make a significant capital investment in Newzoo as part of the deal
Funding Bytes
Chile dev TinyBytes Games picks up $1.4m investment
CEO Andres Constantinidis on why Initial Capital and London Venture Partners have made their first foray into Latin America games funding
Invested
Tencent invests $318 million in Chinese video-sharing company Bilibili
Publisher acquires 12.3 per cent of shares in a company that dabbles in running League of Legends and Overwatch esports teams
Funding Round
Blockchain outfit ClanPlay secures $2 million for its gamer rewards platform
Company aims to build “the world’s first marketplace for in-game actions"
More Tales To Tell
AMC and Smilegate backed out of Telltale financing talks day before closure
Source says management painted AMC deal as done
Road To Investments
Scopely swoops for Glu’s Rob Ricca to lead M&A activity
Rob Ricca previously led M&A at Glu Mobile, during which time it purchased Crowdstaf and Plain Vanilla
Jobs News
Tencent's director if investments and biz dev in the West departs
Jonathan Lai’s new employer Coatue Management and is looking for new investments in games
Job News Klaxon
Nordisk Film Games eyes further investments as it snaps up new director of partnerships
Sofie Filt Læntver will enter the fray on October 1st
Investment Round
Roblox picks up $150 million investment to fuel global expansion
New translations and support for currencies expected as company continues to grow
One Hundred Million Dollars
Streaming platform Caffeine nets $100m investment from 21st Century Fox
Two companies form new joint venture called Caffeine Studios
Vr
Nazara Technologies invests in Bangalore-based VR gaming studio Instasportz
Mobile developer is looking to get into offline VR games lounges across India
Raw Investment
Indie publisher Raw Fury gets $5.5m boost from Nordisk Film Games
The label is behind upcoming mobile and switch game Bad North
Investment
Animoca Brands receives $1.08m investment from Lympo and Sun Hung Kai
Publisher and developer to use the funding to open up opportunities in AI and blockchain
Invested
Metropolitan Partners Group invests in Tilting Point Media user acquisition fund
Marketing and publishing platform aims to deploy $132m annually to finance user acquisition
Field Trip
Indian learning platform Quizizz raises over $3 million in funding
Homework gamification app has amassed over 10 million active users
Take Three
Kakao Games makes a third $16.8 million investment in esports developer Neptune
The South Korean company now holds an 11 per cent stake in Neptune
Code Kids
Microsoft puts $500k behind tech training for students of colour
Publisher enters partnership with Black Girls Code to improve STEM education
Not So Improbable
NetEase invests $50m in UK tech company Improbable
Ties between Chinese publisher and SpatialOS developer deepen following partnership announced back in February
Who's There?
Ex-Zynga and TinyCo devs raise $2m for chat app games start-up Knock Knock
The chat gaming network will combine chat-native play experiences with unique intellectual properties
All Aboard
Chinese publisher NetEase picks up minority stake in UK studio Jumpship
Developer plans to double team of six over the next year