Just months following it elevated $30 million, social game developer Kabam has secured an eye-popping $85 million to turn out to be the Zynga of hardcore social games.
The massive funding spherical was co-led by Google Ventures and Pinnacle Ventures. Efficiency Equity and SK Telecom Ventures joined the round, as did previous traders Canaan Partners, Redpoint Ventures and Intel Money.
Like Zynga, Kabam tends to make a suite of social video games for Facebook as well as the internet. However, instead of catering to the casual gaming crowd, Kabam focuses on the “hardcore” gamers - the male teens that play Halo, Phone of Duty and Bioshock. Kabam CEO Kevin Chou told Mashable that 82% of its audience actively play Pc or console games and that 70% of its demographic is male.
Some of Kabam’s top video games include Glory of Rome, Dragons of Atlantis and Kingdoms of Camelot. Dragons of Atlantis, the company’s most popular game, has about four million month-to-month active end users.
Chou says the income is mainly for accelerating its growth in Asia, increasing the amount of video games it brings to market and launching video games in other hardcore gaming verticals, like technique gaming. Asia appears to be the company’s primary target, though. It’s not shocking, given the region’s wider acceptance of hardcore gaming and its greater propensity for virtual products.
Infrastructure costs also played a function in the choice to increase such a large round. Chou says that the investment by Google Ventures benefits Kabam since Google has deep knowledge in scaling, information centers, marketing and advertising (Adwords) and cell (Android). It is important to notice that Google alone includes a major investment in Zynga. Chou doesn’t think that Zynga and Kabam are rivals since they target distinct demographics with their games.
The firm has also been on a massive employing spree. In January 2010, the business had twenty five employees, but today it's a lot more than four hundred.
Kabam’s producing a massive wager that traditional gamers are gradually heading to provide up their PCs and consoles in favor of web-based video games. Whilst a single console game can cost $50 to $60, Kabam’s games are no cost. They also possess the additional advantage of becoming social outlets for gamers, a phenomenon known all as well nicely by gamers of Globe of Warcraft or other massive multiplayer online position enjoying video games (MMORPGs).
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