Journal

Backed by Spintop Ventures, Behold Ventures, and Sisu Game Ventures, the studio aims to push mobile gaming boundaries. Seven Stars, a Helsinki-based mobile gaming startup, has secured seed funding to craft the "next generation of puzzle games." Helmed by ex-Tridify CEO Alex Le Bell, the leadership team includes Olli Aurola (former Lute Group executive) as CTO and Markus Tuppurainen (ex-SciPlay creative director) in the same role at Seven Stars. Their roster boasts industry veterans from Rovio, Moon Active, Seriously, Next Games, and Small Giant Games—a powerhouse lineup ready to shake up the genre. The investment round, co-led by Spintop Ventures and Behold Ventures, saw additional backing from Sisu Game Ventures, Failup Ventures, and notable angel investors, including Timo Soininen, former CEO and co-founder of Small Giant Games. The startup also secured EU funding to fuel its R&D efforts. Blending Creativity […]

Written by our partner InvestGame According to Bloomberg, US-based AR gaming company Niantic, Inc. plans to sell its gaming business, including its flagship title, Pokémon GO. The game development division could be acquired by US-based mobile gaming company Scopely for $3.5B. This deal would significantly shift the AR and location-based gaming market if true. ABOUT NIANTIC Niantic was established as an internal startup at Google in 2010 by John Hanke (previously CEO of Keyhole, which was acquired by Google and became the foundation of Google Earth). In 2015, it spun out as an independent company with backing from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Nintendo (TYO: 7974), and The Pokémon Company. Today, the company employs almost 1,000 people, with main offices in the US, Japan, and the UK. Since 2015, Niantic has raised over $765m across four funding rounds: in Oct’15, the company […]

Meta has launched a $50 million Creator Fund for developers building games for its online virtual space Horizon Worlds. Meta said it will pay devs monthly based on factors such as engagement, retention, and in-world purchases. As part of this initiative, Meta is also introducing its first creator competition of the year. The first will be a $1m mobile-focused contest, which is set to start on Tuesday, March 11th. Moreover, the company said that Meta Horizon Creator Program members can increase earnings through in-world purchases, which will expand to 18 more countries on Monday, February 24th. Meta has also released the Horizon Worlds desktop editor in early access. It supports new features, including custom model import for building worlds, TypeScript support for complex game logic, and mobile optimisation tools. In the US, it also features generative AI tools such as […]

Unity made a bold, high-stakes move in 2024, trimming its ranks to 4,987 full-timers—a dramatic cut costing $214M. In a sweeping reorganization, the game engine and ads powerhouse shuttered 23 offices, shrinking its global presence from 57 locations in 2023 to just 34 by year’s end. The cost breakdown? $15M in revenue expenses, $48M in R&D, $58M in sales and marketing, and $93M in general and admin—plus an extra $53M in restructuring charges. This follows earlier plans to slice 25% of the workforce in Q1, building on the near 1,800 employee drop from 2023 and a steeper decline from 2022’s 7,703 staff. Yet, even amid cost-cutting and a leaner footprint, Unity isn’t standing still. Despite revenue softness in its Chinese market and an accumulated deficit now at $3.7B, key customer contributions are on the rise, and the company holds $1.5B […]