Zattikka picks up $5.5 million in funding round

Casual and social gaming specialist Zattikka has picked up $5.5 million through parent company Expedite 5 in a round of funding.

Led by Notion Capital, Zattikka which owns casual gaming portal Gimmie5Games also picked up a portion of the cash from Lionsgate co-chair Harald Ludwig, who will be joining the firm's board as a result.

Zattikka itself claims the funding reflects growing interest in casual social gaming, with female gamers in particular expanding the sector's userbase.

Casually confident

"To successfully operate in such a competitive fast-growth industry we are focused on developing games that appeal to the different demographics of this wider audience," added Zattikka CEO Tim Chaney.

"This round of funding led by Notion Capital means we can now push ahead with recruiting even more skilled people and put substantial investment behind product development and marketing."

Indeed, Zattikka has confirmed that the majority of the funds will be ploughed into marketing, research and development, and recruitment, with the firm also planning to strengthen its line-up of games in both the mobile and browser based arena.

Zattikka picked up Gimme5Games back in September 2009, launching the first of its eight titles on iPhone in December.