Space Ape Games, Maker Of Samurai Siege, Grabs $7M Series C

Space Ape Games, the London-based mobile games developer behind Samurai Siege — a game that has seen 10 million downloads since launch just over a year ago and netted the company $20m in aggregate revenue — has closed a $7 million Series C round of funding.

Leading the round is Northzone, whilst existing investors, Accel Partners, Initial Capital and Connect Ventures, also participated. This brings the total raised by the company to $11m since it was founded in 2012.

To coincide with today’s funding news, Space Ape Games — whose founders are made up of former Playfish, EA and Mind Candy employees — is unveiling its second title, Rival Kingdoms: Age of Ruin.

The game, which is currently open for pre-registration, is described as a “bold new take” on the mobile RTS genre with a “heavy emphasis on explosive action, intense multi-player combat, collaborative guild-based play, and a rich backstory”. Or, for games industry nerds, the company is pitching it as a mid-core, multi-player, RTS game. It’s pegged for a global launch on iOS and Android in early 2015.

In a canned statement, Space Ape Games co-founder and CEO John Earner, who was previously Head of Product at Playfish and a Studio GM at Electronic Arts, commented: “We listened to our players and developed a game we think breaks the mould in the mobile RTS genre. We want to lead the way in making core games accessible on mobile devices in a way that accommodates our players’ busy modern lives.”

So why does a profitable games developer with one smash hit already on its books need $7 million in fresh funding? As per usual this is about stepping on the gas whilst the momentum is there.

To that end, Space Ape says it will use the additional funding to boost marketing and accelerate its hiring plans, with up to 30-40 hires planned over the next 6 months. Those hires, presumably, will be based at its Soho, London HQ.