Your Gaming and Esports Update
Deals
Kahoot! Raises $215M
After announcing a modest $28 million raise earlier this year, the user-generated gamified e-learning platform Kahoot today announced a much bigger round to double down on the current surge in demand for remote education. The Norwegian startup — which has clocked 1.3 billion “participating players” in the last 12 months — has picked up $215 million from SoftBank, specifically by way of a “private placement to a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., through the issuance of 43,000,000 new shares.” Kahoot is traded on the Merkur Market in Oslo — a stepping stone between being a fully private startup and a publicly listed company — and today the company is trading more than 15% up on the news. Kahoot is valued at about $2.4 billion.
Talon Esports Announces $2M Seed Round
Talon Esports, a Hong Kong-based company, announced that after completion of its seed tour it raised $2 million (£1.52 million). Widus Strategic Investments, EMC Capital, Widus Strategic Investments, and the founder of United Esports’ esports marketing agency, Felix LaHaye participated in the round of funding. The raised funding will expand the organization’s lifestyle value, as well as expanding into new countries and competitive titles.
Nag Studios Raises $1M
Swedish startup Nag Studios has secured $1 million in pre-seed funding to develop esports games “made for players, streamers, and viewing audiences alike.” The funding round was led by London Venture Partners with participation from Antler, and will allow Nag to expand its team with a variety of new hires. Nag was founded by games industry veteran Peter Stahl and esports export Johan Skott. Stahl spent close to a decade working at DICE, working on franchises including Battlefield and Mirror’s Edge, before moving on in May 2016 to serve as head of development at Resolution Games.
Mogul Raises AUD$8M
Australian-based matchmaking and tournament platform Mogul has raised AU $8M in a significantly oversubscribed share placement. The latest capital injection is expected to allow the company to continue operating fully funded for the next 24 months. The company is expected to use the funds to continue developing its matchmaking and tournament platform, accelerate its monetisation and brand engagement strategies, further international partner engagement, expand partnerships with PC and Mobile gaming publishers.
Take-Two Acquires Ruffian Games
Take-Two Interactive’s key Rockstar Games subsidiary has made an acquisition. According to a report on TheGamer.com citing regulatory documents, Rockstar has purchased video game developer Ruffian Games and rebranded it as Rockstar Dundee. The name derives from Dundee, the Scottish city where the unit is based. Take-Two/Rockstar is well familiar with its new unit. Under its old name, the developer had collaborated over the past year with the Americans on several titles, including recent iterations of the durably popular Grand Theft Auto. Since it was a privately held, independent business, Ruffian Games did not disclose its finances. The terms of the acquisition have not yet been made public.
Dapper Labs Raises $18M in Token Sale
Dapper Labs has closed an $18 million token sale on the strength of its latest collectibles game, NBA Top Shot. The non-fungible token (NFT) maker, also known for its early success in clogging the Ethereum blockchain in 2017 with CryptoKitties, raised the latest funds on CoinList. The firm completed work on its own high-volume Flow blockchain earlier this year. The token sale platform announced the results of the raise on Friday, saying that 13,000 people participated in the offering from Sept. 21–Oct. 2.
ReKTGlobal Raises $35M
New York-based esports holding company ReKTGlobal has announced that it has raised USD$35m (£27m) in debt capital funding from Summit Partners. The investment will be used for recruiting purposes across the firm, including the appointment of new C-suite executives, sales personnel, and players for its Rogue and London Royal Ravens teams. Moreover, the round will also be used to support strategic acquisitions, with its purchases in recent years including content creation agency Greenlit Content in June 2019 and data-driven media agency Fearless Media in August this year.
Updates
100 Thieves Is Exiting CS:GO
According to Nadeshot, Founder & CEO of 100T, the CSGO scene will become heavily Europe-centric due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, some players won’t be able to stay in North America anymore due to travel bans and visa issues. According to a report, Complexity is going to sign the current 100 Thieves star Justin “jks” Savage soon. JKS was not only the star player of 100T, but he was also the 15th best player in 2019.
Asmongold, Mizkif, Esfand Launch Esports Org, One True King
A new, creator run organization has been forged by the hands of popular streamers Asmongold, Rich Cambell, Mizkif, Esfand, and TipsOut through hours of streaming MMOs and other content. One True King, or OTK, is an org that will focus on empowering talented content creators through collaboration and is going to function as more of a media production-style company and brand rather than a typical esports team.
