Venture Capital Increasingly Invests in the Video Game Industry

by Limor Schafman

I've noticed in the past several months a significant uptick in the quantity and value of VC deals in the video game space.  I thought it might be interesting to all of you to have some of this deal information in one place, so I will start aggregating it here on this blog.  And in case you are wondering, yes, investors are also making equity deals for companies developing games with meaningful messages, for education, information and advocacy.  Government and foundation funding are not the only resources.

Here are two new deals noted in Digital Media Wire:

Game Developer Start-up Heatwave Lands $7.5 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 29, 2008 - 6:30am.

Austin, Texas - Heatwave Interactive, an independent game developer start-up focused on titles that crossover to film and television, announced on Tuesday that it has raised a $7.5 million first round of financing from Syncom Venture Partners.

Austin-based Heatwave was co-founded by former Electronic Arts and Sony Online executive Anthony Castoro, and entrepreneur Donn Clendenon. "We internally fund the development of new concepts and screen them through an exhaustive evaluation process," said Heatwave CEO Donn Clendenon. "Once a concept makes it through this process, Heatwave raises development funds, partners with talented developers and leverages strategic relationships to bring our products to market." The company said the funding will go towards its Central Studio, which will develop new and licensed video game properties for exploitation across multiple media channels.

Asian Online Game Community Garena Secures $2 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 29, 2008 - 11:11am.

Singapore - Garena, a Singapore-based company that hosts online game tournaments, has raised $2 million in angel funding from investors including Skype co-founder Tovio Annus and the government of Singapore, Alarm Clock reported.

Garena counts over 5.5 million registered users for its advertising-supported service, which supports LAN games, casual games, and various leagues and tournaments. The company also has a deal with MTV Asia that lets its users watch MTV programs, music videos and animation content on an integrated player.