Studio Finance
Financing your indie games development studio - Part one
Game Dragons director and industry veteran Philip Oliver gives you the lowdown on dealing with investors and publishers
Done Deal
Animoca Brands invests $2 million in creative networking platform Talenthouse
Deal equal to 448,413 shares in art networking platform
Venture Gained
Rovio invests $3 million in games start-up fund Play Ventures
Play Ventures was founded in 2018 by video game entrepreneurs Harri Manninen and Henric Suuronen
Investment
GDC 2019: Games for Change launches accelerator program aimed at games and XR industry
Partnering with i(x) investments and Quake Capital to establish program
Cause And Action
Jump Holdings raises $1 million to launch interactive choice-driven game Inventure
Backing was led by A3 Education as firm looks to empower students
Money
5th Planet Games lands $4.85 million in financing for future acquisitions
Hugo resurfaces with a new name and a renewed drive to buy, buy, buy
Funding
GFR Fund has put together a $20 million pot for esports, streaming and new technologies
"We are looking beyond traditional game developers to invest in disruptive entertainment technologies"
Music To My Ears
Music games developer Gismart launches new investment initiative for mobile
Looking to invest $1 million on a case-by-case basis
Studio Expansion
Mobile publisher Rogue Games brings in $1.25m from seed funding round
Venture firm Grishin Robotics led funding
New Studio
Helsinki start-up Reworks raises $1.5m in funding as studio looks to challenge Glu Mobile’s Design Home
Glu Mobile singled out by company as main competitor
Hatching A Plan
Rovio in talks with several investors for Hatch streaming funding boost
Angry Birds developer wants extra investment for its subsidiary, while taking losses off its books may appease investors
Financing Deal
Finnish developer Kuuhubb picks up $1.1 million loan
Business Finland fronts up the funds
Viel Geld
German mobile games studio Sviper raises nearly $3 million in funding
Investment lead by Modern Time Group
Funding Reality
Helsinki start-up Hipfire Games raises $205k for debut VR and mobile cross-platform title Fail Space
Studio focused on creating multiplayer experiences in virtual reality
Money, Money, Money
Streaming toolkit Lightstream raises $8 million in initial funding
Chicago firm has accrued $9.8 million overall to date
Stretch Those Shoulders
OliveX raises $1 million to turn getting fit into a game
Funding comes from the likes of Alabaster and Antanas Guoga
Investment Reality
Mixed reality technology firm Cooperative Innovations secures $650k in funding
Leeds-based outfit raises $652.741 to bring on more staff and find licensing partners for its animation tool
$$$
Report: Tencent's 2018 was the firm's best ever for investments
122 of the 700-plus companies the Chinese tech and entertainment giant has invested in worth over $1bn
Funded
TinyBuild has big plans for its newly-acquired $15 million in Series-A investment
Large Series-A funding will be used to bring on new hires and push publishing project growth
Wired
Plug In Digital raises $2.25M to push publishing efforts on mobile and PC
Plug In Digital looks to strengthen its services, partnerships and publishing opportunities
Big Investment
Mobile marketing tech firm Ogury picks up $21m investment
Company generated $100m in 2018
Launch
Real-money competition platform Flashbreak launches with $2 million in seed funding
The app will act as both a publishing platform and a real-money competition hub
Invested
Bristol dev Auroch Digital raises investment from Miniclip and Bristol Private Equity Club
Equity firm fronts over $200,000 for Auroch’s new projects and local dev scene work
$$$$$
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