Weekly News Digest #32
# of announced deals
8
announced deals’ size
$38m
# of closed deals
6
Hi all,
August turns out to be quite a quiet month so far for the deal activity dynamics, so this week there’s again no featured news in the digest, but you can read about the notable ones below. However, we are nearly finished on our H1’22 Gaming Deals Activity Report, so you will have enough insights to dive in pretty soon! And since the Report is on its way, make sure you follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Telegram not to miss it.
We want to thank Hiro Capital and The Games Fund for supporting this digest.
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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Sweden-based games developer Wicket Gaming acquires Germany-based gaming, media and digital education group Wegesrand for $4.1m. $2.6m will be paid in shares of Wicket Gaming, $1.15m in cash. An additional $0.36m will be paid two years after the closing of the deal. As a result of the acquisition, Wicket Gaming will increase its presence in the European market, as well as get an experienced team of game developers with several IPs in their portfolio.
US-based blockchain company InfiniteWorld acquires US-based multiplatform games developer Super Bit Machine for an undisclosed sum. The financial terms of the deal are not disclosed. As a result of the acquisition, InfiniteWorld will get a team of experienced game developers who will work on the development of games, with a focus on consumer engagement. InfiniteWorld offers services for brands to create, monetize, and engage with digital content.
VENTURE FINANCING
Spain-based Web3 gaming platform PlayZap Games has raised an undisclosed amount in the Seed funding. Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin led the round through its incubator and investment arm KuCoin Labs, with participation from Arcanum Capital, Prime Block Ventures, and Oddiyana Ventures. The funds will be used for the development of the PlayZap app for mobile and PC platforms, adding more partners to the project, creating new games for the platform and marketing activities.
Blockchain-based ‘buy now, pay later’ NFT startup Halliday has raised $6m in Seed funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Hashed, SV Angel, Immersion Partners, and others. The platform is offering a service for gamers to pay off Web3 in-game purchases over time. The funds will go towards the launch of the platform and its development.
US-based Web3 gaming and social platform INK Games has raised $18.75m in the latest funding. The list of investors was not disclosed. The funds will go towards the development of the platform, and the company’s first title Prize Kingdoms.
Alchemon Inc, a studio behind the NFT card collecting game Alchemon, has raised $1m in a Seed funding round led by Borderless Capital, with participation also coming from Pillar VCand Yieldly. The game is still in its beta stage, so the funding will support its further development.
US-based VR game developer IRL Studios has raised $8m in Seed funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Y Combinator. The studio is most known for Gym Class — a VR basketball app for Meta Quest. The funds will be used to accelerate the growth of the studio and bring the game to its official launch in this fall.
US-based gaming studio Ganymede Games has secured $100k from New Mexico Vintage Fund 2022 — a micro-fund of $2m, launched to invest in local early-stage startups. The studio is developing a deckbuilding RPG Xenotheria, which is expected to be released in early access in Q4’22 on PC.
FUNDRAISING
US-based games developer Playstudios has announced the launch of a new blockchain division and Web3 investment fund, сalled a Future Fund. It is a $10m fund which will focus on supporting companies building rewarded play options in Web3 space.
