Klang Games, an entertainment and game development studio in Berlin has raised $41 million in funding to develop Seed, its very own player-built online universe.
The game company also announced that Isabelle Henriques, Electronic Arts veteran has joined as co-CEO. Klang Games aims to push the limits of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games with Seed, which is set to be a persistent large-scale world that will allow players to shape their destinies and share the experience with virtual AI humans.
In an interview with GamesBeat, Mundi Vondi, CEO of Klang Games stated, “This is a really big achievement for us. And we’re super proud and happy to get this level of trust from investors, especially the best in the business.”
By using Improbable’s SpatiaIOS platform to provide the necessary infrastructure, the online space colony game allows small development teams to create massive simulations. And although the game takes place in the future, it doesn’t have fantasies like The Force, but it is more realistic.
Seed is aiming to be a continuous, persistent world where players can colonise an alien planet through collaboration, conflict and player-to-player interaction. And by using unique gameplay based on managing multiple characters in real-time, these characters live on even after the player has logged off, allowing the Seed universe to be a living entity.
The round was led by Animoca Brands and Kingsway Capital with participation from Novator, Supercell, Anthos, Roosh Ventures, New Life Ventures and AngelHub. Klang Games has now raised close to $80 million so far.
Yat Siu, executive chairman of Animoca Brands said in a statement, “We believe that Klang Games’ combination of design and technical prowess will ensure that Seed is a successful project, and our investment reflects our confidence in the team’s vision. We are delighted to explore the future of humanity together.”
The new $41 million funding will be used to expand the rapid growth of Klang Games to accelerate the development of Seed. “We are certainly trying to hire very aggressively for the next 12 months or so,” said Vondi.
Klang Games hopes to increase the number of its current staff this year from 70 to 150 people and create a collaborative and inspiring work environment in the heart of Berlin.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
