Alma Bax 
Thatgamecompany, the award-winning developer of games such as Journey, Sky: Children of the Light, and Flower, recently secured a deal with Tencent Holdings, China’s largest gaming company, worth a total of $160 million. The deal, announced last week, has been seen as a major win for the small indie studio.
This article will explore what this $160 million means for Thatgamecompany.
Overview of Thatgamecompany
Thatgamecompany, founded in 2006 by Kellee Santiago and Jenova Chen, is a game development studio based in Santa Monica, California. Since its inception, the studio has gained a reputation for creating games that prioritise emotional connection and innovation over profits. Thatgamecompany’s signature titles include Flow (2007), Flower (2009), and Journey (2012). They have been described as groundbreaking experiences that reinvent how players interact with their games.
In 2020, Tencent was announced as a major investor in Thatgamecompany, investing $160 million into the company, allowing them to pursue their next project independently. This showcases an exciting development for an already established studio looking to expand their ideas within the gaming sphere. Additionally, this investment is likely to allow Thatgamecompany to release projects with a larger scale. This could be applied towards new platforms such as VR devices or a continuation of increasingly nuanced stories that focus on the popular concepts of emotion, community and self-expression they are known for.
Summary of $160 million investment
In December 2020, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced a major new investment in Santa Monica-based independent game developer Thatgamecompany. This latest Series B funding round accounts for $160 million, with Sony leading the investment by signing off on $40M directly. This money will help the studio bring future titles and products to life and continue work on projects already in development.
The remaining $120 million is being provided by investors including Maveron and Game Club, Redpoint Ventures, Saturn Capital Partners and Benchmark. These companies have a history of championing creative and innovative game design, making them perfect partners to back Thatgamecompany’s next initiatives.
This capital injection is a huge confidence boost for the entire team at TGC, giving them new resources to take their beloved original intellectual properties further than ever before and explore the next generation of interactive entertainment experiences built from the ground up for PlayStation platforms.
Impact on Thatgamecompany
Thatgamecompany, a gaming studio founded in 2006, has recently secured a series A round of funds valuing them at $160 million. This is a huge accomplishment for the company and its investors and presents many new opportunities for its future.
In this article, we will explore the impact of this new influx of funding on Thatgamecompany.
Expansion of game development capabilities
The $160 million in new capital recently raised by Thatgamecompany is a major boost to their capabilities. This can enable the studio to expand its development of games and bring more unique experiences to its growing fan base. With this money, the studio can hire additional team members, expand its office space and develop better tools for their art and animation teams. In addition, it will allow them to create larger-scope projects and flesh out existing ideas they already have in progress or planning.
In addition to expanding their conventional game design efforts, thatgamecompany can invest in research into artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). With more creative staff power and greater attention on emergent technology, the studio could soon be seen offering groundbreaking content for the industry. Whether it be interactive graphic novels, AI simulations or digital board game adaptations, this cash injection will give them greater opportunities to explore cutting-edge gameplay mechanics and never-before-seen stories from its world-class writers.
Thatgamecompany has always been known for pushing boundaries with their narrative and gameplay mechanics, but now they have even more resources at their disposal. As a result, this $160 million investment could give rise to some of the most original content ever created – something that not even regular AAA studios have the budget or bravery to achieve.
Ability to hire more talent
In June 2020, it was announced that Thatgamecompany had secured $160 million in funding from South Korea’s Netmarble to carry out their next projects. This is a huge step for the game development studio, allowing them to significantly expand their team and resources.
This capital injection will allow Thatgamecompany to increase the size of their current team and quality of their output by adding new personnel with a diverse set of talents. The company has already begun hiring more staff in development, design departments, and data analytics teams. With this influx of funds, they are also said to be able to explore new technology solutions that have remained inaccessible due to cost concerns.
While one of the primary focuses would be to improve upon their existing franchises such as “Sky: Children of The Light” and “Journey for iOS/PS4,” the possibilities offered by new personnel could also lead into developing entirely new IPs or spin off titles from existing properties. This access to resources will pave new pathways for growth and expansion within the gaming industry for Thatgamecompany; the future certainly looks promising for them!
Increase in marketing efforts
The influx of new funding for Thatgamecompany will undoubtedly lead to increased marketing efforts for their video games. The increased budget will allow the company to invest more in online platforms and advertising, ensuring their games reach a larger audience. In addition, with more promotional tools available, they can generate more interest and hype around the launch of their upcoming releases.
By investing in a wider array of channels, Thatgamecompany can reach out to gamers beyond its existing fan base and create even greater opportunities for sales growth. This involves providing gamers with engaging content that resonates with them, such as behind-the-scenes videos or special features giving insight into the development process. Such content could be showcased across social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube and game-specific sites like Xbox Live or PlayStation Network.
In addition to reaching out to potential customers across digital platforms, Thatgamecompany can use traditional means of advertising such as print magazines or radio commercials. This way they can target consumers that may not be active online participants but are still interested in gaming news – a strategy often referred to as omni-channel marketing. By employing multiple channels simultaneously and strategically leveraging each one based on its particular strengths, the company will reap the benefits of its newly acquired capital regardless of the platform people access it through.
Thatgamecompany seals $160m
Thatgamecompany recently sealed a $160 million project, making a mark in the gaming industry. This is a massive amount by any standard, and its implications will likely have a ripple effect on the gaming industry.
The implications of this deal are wide-reaching and need to be further discussed to understand its effects on the gaming industry.
Increased focus on indie game development
The recent $160 million investment in indie game company Thatgamecompany has had an immediate and wide-reaching impact on the gaming industry. The focus that this transaction has brought to independent developers is leading to a surge in innovation as they create new experiences in gaming.
This investment has encouraged more independent developers to pursue their goals by elevating the profile of smaller studios. Additionally, many companies are now beginning to look at smaller titles with renewed interest, as seen with Apple’s announcement of funding for new indie games at its WWDC 2017 event. This results in greater opportunities for these developers on numerous platforms and devices.
The money invested by Tencent will also be leveraged to further amplify the impact of Thatgamecompany’s content by releasing it on additional channels including the PC and console markets. Furthermore, the studio could now access high-end development resources, allowing them to craft their experiences for various players and systems more finely.
Ultimately, such significant investments present exciting opportunities for game makers worldwide who wish to explore innovative concepts or push boundaries with bold new ideas. In addition, the focus that large companies are now giving to small studios should open up previously untapped potential in creativity and ultimately help drive across-the-board improvements in video game experiences.
Potential for new genres of games
The $160 million investment that Thatgamecompany recently received from a leading technology company has created new possibilities for the gaming industry. With this new capital, Thatgamecompany can further explore the potential for gaming experiences designed to boost creativity and “emotional depth” in ways that were previously not possible.
This investment is particularly noteworthy for two reasons: it signals an intention to invest selectively in quality entertainment software, and it strengthens independent studios’ ability to create innovative game genres. In addition, it poses an interesting shift away from the traditional model of funding only blockbuster titles with large budgets and marketing campaigns. This could lead to fresh perspectives, diverse content and bold new opportunities within the industry.
Having access to larger resources, Thatgamecompany could invest more heavily into special projects or experiments with unique styles or mechanics that have never been seen in the gaming community. This could lead to the development of games which do not easily fit into established genres, like virtual reality simulations or interactive storytelling experiences that are highly immersive yet emotionally satisfying — opening up new avenues for growth in an already vibrant industry.
More competition in the gaming market
The recent news that Thatgamecompany was able to raise $160 million in Series A funding has already started to have ripple effects throughout the gaming industry. This influx of cash means that the popular game developer may soon be direct competition to some of gaming’s biggest names. The newly formed company could potentially revolutionise how games are made and how they’re marketed and sold, increasing competition for market share within the industry.
Thatgamecompany can now invest large sums into their current projects and hire a greater number of developers, possibly poaching from other companies and giving them a competitive edge. Additionally, their influence within the industry may create new standards for quality, monetization and development workflows. They could also drive innovative feedback loops between players and developers which could further enhance a game’s replay value—leading to retention which may bring bigger revenues in the end resulting in more lucrative success for both smaller developers with limited resources and established conglomerates alike.
While it remains uncertain what direction Thatgamecompany’s founders will take with their newfound investment opportunities, one cannot deny that such sizable venture capital will surely impact the industry one way or another. And now more than ever is an exciting time to be part of the gaming community due to new possibilities in content quality or strategies that inevitably arise following investments such as this one—bringing change, innovation and challenge into an already undoubtedly robust marketplace with immense potential growth year-over-year until outshining established entertainment business models vying for everyday consumers attention. At the same time, they pursue leisure activities from home at an unprecedented level akin only seen during pandemic phases such as these we are all still navigating through together at present daytime and well into this new decade ahead yet again.
tags = thatgamecompany, $160m, TPG, Sequoia, mobile game, thatgamecompany children light 160m sequoia capitaltakahashiventurebeat, flower, journey, sky, catmull
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