The Alumni Effect: Studios Founded by Ex-Activision, Blizzard, and King Employees
Download PDFThe Alumni Effect:
Studios Founded by
Ex-Activision,
Blizzard, and King
Employees
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EX-ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INCLUDED STUDIOS
30
Selected startups
Founded by veterans from:
$
0.7B
Raised by startups
in 2020-2024
The analysis focused on companies that raised funds in 2020 – 2024 and were founded by Activision Blizzard veterans.
Game developers and publishers
No Funding Rounds in 2020-2024 or Activision Blizzard Roles Were Not Confirmed
Queen
Digital
Vital XP
Platform & Tech (incl. web3)
EX-ACTIVISION BLIZZARD EXCLUDED STUDIOS
Acquired Companies
Since 2020, investors have deployed nearly $0.7B in capital across 45 VC-led rounds, backing 30 startups founded by
ex-ATVI employees, while 27 companies founded by Riot Games alumni secured $0.5B across 38 rounds.
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Number of Investments in Studios Founded by ex-ATVI by Segment
Average Check of Early-stage VC-backed Rounds ($m)
We observe the same effect as with ex-Riots Studios’ financing: market averages for next-year financing during the peak
period of 2021-2022 were roughly half the rate of companies founded by ex-ATVI employees.
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Ex-ATVI Studios
Other VC-backed Gaming Startups
Share of VC-backed Companies That Raised Funds After the First Round of Financing
$52.5m
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Fund
Value of Deals
Notable Investments
$261.0m
$98.1m
$163.0m
$169.2m
Most Active VC Funds Investing in ex-Activision Blizzard Studios (2020—2024 YTD)
Well-known gaming-focused VC funds dominate funding for former ATVI teams.
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Most former ATVI projects are still in development, but some, like Marvel Snap and Stormgate, have been released.
Others,
like Project O.R.C.S. from Lightforge Games, were closed this year for not finding an audience.
Web3 gaming platform with exclusive
titles (Mobile)
Project Description
Top-6 ex-ATVI Companies by Total Funds Raised
Multiplayer card game (Multiplatform)
(release in Q4’24)
Fantasy Isometric RPG – Battle
Royale (PC)
Multiplayer free-to-play RTS (PC)
Unannounced sandbox title
Company
2018
2020
2018
Founded
2020
2021
2020
$262.0m
$34.7m
$100.0m
Deal Value
$87.5m
$25.0m
$20.0m
Rounds
Series B (2023)
Seed (2020)
Seed (2021)
Series A (2022)
Series А (2021)
Series B (2022)
Seed (2022)
Series B (2021)
Series B+ (2021)
Series C (2023)
Seed (2021)
Series A (2022)
Multiplayer RPG (PC)
Project
Original IP
(Studio closed in Mar’24 )
(Project closed in May’24 )
