TMCnet News
Riot Games & PUBG veterans raise $3.2 million in seed funding to launch new studio Hidden Leaf GamesLOS ANGELES, May 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry vets from Riot Games, PUBG and other studios have raised $3.2mm in seed funding to launch new studio Hidden Leaf Games. The Hidden Leaf design team is led by legendary game designer Steve 'Guinsoo' Feak, whose custom Warcraft III map DotA: All Stars birthed the MOBA genre and inspired smash hits League of Legends, DOTA 2, and more. Global venture capital firm, Lightspeed Venture Partners, which has backed companies including Snap, Affirm, Epic Games and more, is leading the round, with strategic investors Vermillion Ventures, Logan Margulies (early Riot Games leader), Eden Chen (CEO - Pragma) and Alex Paley (VP of Product - Scopely) joining the round. "From our first meeting with David and Bao, we knew they were special founders. They challenged convention, moved fast, and created a truly fun game in just months of development. It also takes pretty special founders to convince Steve Feak to come out of retirement and join as head of design," said Amy Wu, Partner at Lightspeed. Hidden Leaf's studio mission is to create core PvP games that focus on competitive mastery, core progression and social play. This mission stems directly from the shared gaming experiences of studio founders Bao Lam (President) and David Li (CEO). "Our friendship really developed because of competitive gaming and the definitive social experiences that came with it. Our friend circle followed the big competitive gaming trends, from MOBAs to Battle Royales, and that kept us connected even if we were physically far apart. Those hundreds of hours spent online competing together on voice chat defined our friendship " Bao and David saw a game market rich with opportunities to brawl against anonymous opponents, but oftentimes the grind of competitive play and myopic focus on the solo competitive experience left their group divided. "e wanted a game we could enjoy with a diverse group - average core gamers, esports pros, and occasional pop-in players - for thousands of hours. But it's tough to find games with that mix of depth, ease of access, and replayability without someone feeling left out or bored. That's why we made FANGS." With that goal in mind the founding team started building their dream game, spending nights, weekends and their own resources to get to a playable proof of concept. And that concept and vision got the attention of one of the biggest names in game design - Steve 'Guinsoo' Feak. Guinsoo's work on League of Legends and DOTA helped establish those global gaming powerhouses, and he and the Hidden Leaf team are hoping to bring a fresh experience to fans of the genre. About FANGS Not-so-Hidden Leaf About Hidden Leaf Games About Lightspeed Venture Partners View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/riot-games--pubg-veterans-raise-3-2-million-in-seed-funding-to-launch-new-studio-hidden-leaf-games-301290022.html SOURCE Hidden Leaf Games |