Berlin, Germany, 11th of March 2021: Skycatcher Fund, a US based fund focused on Internet companies globally, has invested a seven-figure sum in the Berlin mobile games developer and publisher Stratosphere Games. On top of that the German Games Fund ("Computerspieleförderung des Bundes") will add $1.21M (€1.02M) to develop a new Mobile Strategy title called "Project MiniCiv" bringing the total investment to over $2.5M.
Both, the seed investment, and the German Games Fund of the BMVI marks the start of the next phase of growth for the company to focus on massive multiplayer online games (MMO). In a first step the management did already increase the team size from 25 to 40 people working on upcoming mobile MMO "Homeworld Mobile" with Gearbox Publishing and the freshly funded "Project MiniCiv". Additional 10 positions will be seated until mid of the year.
Both, the seed investment, and the German Games Fund of the BMVI marks the start of the next phase of growth for the company to focus on massive multiplayer online games (MMO). In a first step the management did already increase the team size from 25 to 40 people working on upcoming mobile MMO "Homeworld Mobile" with Gearbox Publishing and the freshly funded "Project MiniCiv". Additional 10 positions will be seated until mid of the year.
“We believe that Western Audiences are underserved when it comes to mobile MMOs,” said Skycatcher’s Siamac Kamalie. “These are some of the most complicated games to build and the market today is led by Korean and Chinese game developers who make games catered to the local audience tastes. Stratosphere Games has invested heavily into their technical capability to offer the same rich MMO experience seen in Asia with millions of players interacting in a virtual world but it is designed for the game preferences of Western audiences.”
Funding for Project "MiniCiv", prototyping and publishing
Among other things, various developers, designers and specialists are to work on new prototypes and products like Project "MiniCiv" financed by a combination of the investment and the German games fund, as well as enable the expansion of the publishing business.
"With Skycatchers investment and the German Games Fund we will be finally able to unlock the power of out our passionate, talent-rich and multi-disciplinary team to build unique and long-lasting metaverse games experiences," said Stratosphere Games CEO Kristian Metzger.
COO, Daniel Ullrich added: “We are working on games with a community-centric development approach, so it’s quite logical that we start our own publishing with the same mindset. Modern MMOs need to deliver not only a great gameplay, but also a holistic player experience which includes all angles of the game, from web to second screens."
More information about “Stratosphere Games"” is available on the official Facebook page.COO, Daniel Ullrich added: “We are working on games with a community-centric development approach, so it’s quite logical that we start our own publishing with the same mindset. Modern MMOs need to deliver not only a great gameplay, but also a holistic player experience which includes all angles of the game, from web to second screens."
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ABOUT STRATOSPHERE GAMES AND THE INVESTMENT ROUNDStratosphere Games is a modern development studio and publisher of online games founded in 2015. The core idea of the company is the production of high-quality core MMOs (Massive Multiplayer Online Games) for mobile devices and other platforms. In cooperation with publishers worldwide, the over 40 strong team in Berlin-Mitte works on well-known brands such as Homeworld Mobile.
Within the scope of the financing round, Stratosphere Games was comprehensively advised by a corporate and tax team from Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner under the leadership of partner Oliver C. Ehrmann. FGvW advises Stratosphere Games on an ongoing basis on tax and corporate law issues.
Skycatcher was represented in the investment by the Berlin law firm Hyazinth LLP.