Investment News – digest from April 6 to 12

All the gaming deals for the past week in one material.

The material was prepared specifically for App2Top.ru Sergey Evdokimov, Investment Manager Mail.Ru Games Ventures and the author of the telegram channel Gaming – M&As and Investments.

Sergey Evdokimov
In the article about the week before last (March 30 — April 5), several deals were missed, so I’m starting this one with an update.

Update:1. Video game developer Demiurge Studios has become independent again

Demiurge co-founder Albert Reed and his business partner bought the company from Sega, which acquired the studio in 2015.

Cambridge Demiurge Studios will once again become an independent developer and focus on working on AAA games for “big” platforms. The company plans to wind down its mobile business.

Over the next 12-18 months, Demiurge will be developing and supporting custom games, rather than developing its own original IP. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

2. RCT Studio raised $10 million in 2019 and plans to raise another $10-15 million in the near future
It became known that the software developer rct studio raised $10 million at an estimated $52 million during the Series A funding round in May 2019.

The main investor was the profile fund Makers Fund. Earlier, Skysaga Capital and Y Combinator also invested in the startup. To date, the company has raised about $12 million.

Founded in 2018, RCT Studio uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to visualize written scripts. The command software first “sifts” the script, analyzes it, and then outputs it in the format of flowcharts and 3D animation. The trick of the service is that it allows you to make changes on the go.

Last week’s deals (April 6-12):1. Sony has invested $400 million in the Chinese streaming service Bilibili

Sony acquired the newly issued shares of the Chinese video game streaming platform Bilibili for $ 400 million, becoming the owner of 4.98% of the shares and valuing the entire company at $ 8 billion.

As part of the deal, the companies announced the continuation of cooperation on the placement of new anime and mobile games on the site.

Bilibili is an entertainment content platform (a mix of Twitch and Netflix) aimed at young people in China. The project began as an animation site, and later esports content, music videos and documentaries were added to its content. The service has more than 130 million monthly active users.

Tencent (10%) and Alibaba (7%) also own minority stakes in Bilibili.

2. Embracer Group raised $164 million by issuing new shares on the stock exchangeEmbracer Group has raised $164 million to purchase new assets by issuing additional shares.

More than 100 investors became shareholders of the parent company THQ Nordic. Thus, in total, $389 million has been invested in it since February last year.

3. N3twork has created a $50 million fund to support mobile indie
Developer N3twork has created a fund to promote mobile indie developers.

The company plans to use a Pilot Fund for $1 million. From it, N3twork will allocate $10,000 each to indie developers to advertise mobile games. She will also act as their publisher and tell you how to increase downloads. After successful completion of the program, developers will have access to the $50 million Growth Fund. From it, N3twork will spend up to $1.5 million per month to support games.

4. FaZe Clan has attracted funding from Jimmy Iovine and NTWRK

The FaZe Clan esports organization worth more than $240 million has successfully completed a funding round, having managed to attract music mogul Jimmy Iovine and the NTWRK mobile platform, which is known for working with leading brands and celebrities.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Earlier this year, FaZe Clan has already received $22.7 million in a convertible loan from the Canadian investment bank Canaccord Genuity. The company plans to raise another $10-15 million this year.

5. SteelSeries acquired A-Volute, a software developer for 3D sound

The Danish manufacturer of gaming headsets SteelSeries has announced the acquisition of the French technology company A-Volute, the developer of the program for working with 3D sound Nahimic.

The acquisition will help SteelSeries improve sound quality for gamers.

6. Vela Games, founded by ex-developers EA and Riot Games, raised $3.1 million

Dublin-based studio Vela Games, created by EA and Riot Games veterans, has raised $3.1 million in a new round of funding.

The investment round was led by the London Venture Partners fund. Total investments in the developer reached $6.9 million. The money will be used to create the first multiplayer game in the new genre of MOCO (multiplayer online co-operative).

7. Fundamentally Games has attracted more than £150 thousand seed investmentsFundamentally Games has closed a seed funding round worth more than £150,000 with an estimate of the entire company at £1.5 million.

The company helps developers “turn their games into services” by providing developers with operating tools. The company is ready to participate in projects at the early stages of development and advise young teams on financial issues.