The Alumni Effect: A Deep Dive into Studios Founded by Ex-Rioters
Download PDFTHE ALUMNI EFFECT:
A DEEP DIVE INTO
STUDIOS FOUNDED BY
EX-RIOTERS
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Number of Investments in Studios Founded by Ex-Rioters by Segment
Average Size of Early-Stage VC-backed Rounds ($m)
Since 2020, investors have deployed almost $0.5B capital across 38 VC-led rounds, backing 27 startups founded by
ex-Riot employees. Ex-Rioters average round size ($11m) is 53% higher than that of the gaming startups ($7m).
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Share of VC-backed Companies That Raised Funds After the First Round of Financing
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Ex-Rioters Studios
Other VC-backed Gaming Startups
Compared to the overall VC gaming market, a significantly higher proportion of ex-Riot teams have obtained additional
financing within the 2-3-year timeframe of previous fundraising round.
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Fund
$339.3m
$135.2m
$160.0m
$236.3m
# of deals
Value of Deals
Notable Investments
$33.7m
13
4
7
9
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Most Active VC Funds Investing in Ex-Rioters’ Studios (2020—2024 YTD)
Well-known gaming-focused VC funds dominate funding for former Riot teams.
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Most projects from former Rioters are still in development. Some have reached the Beta stage, but most are still in earlier
production phases. Among 27 startups, only 6 companies have released products.
Company
2019
2019
Fantasy Isometric RPG — Battle
Royale (PC)
Fantasy Extraction MOBA
(PC)
Venn.tv
(finished broadcast in 2022)
2022
$87.5m
$42.5m
$55.0m
Project
Founded
$ Value
(Total)
Project Description
Multiplayer AAA (PC & Console)
Rounds
Series А (2021)
Series B (2022)
Series A (2023)
Seed (2020)
Series A (2021)
Series A+ (2023)
Top-6 Ex-Riots Companies by Total Funds Raised
(release in Q4’24)
2018
$49.0m
Seed (2018)
Series А (2019)
Series B (2021)
Fantasy MMO (PC &
Console)
TBA
2019
$43.0m
Seed (2019)
Series А (2020)
Streaming Television
Network
Pragma Engine
(2021)
2020
$38.2m
Backend Game Engine
Series A (2020)
Series B (2021)
Series B+ (2021)
(released in Mar’24)
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