Kek Leisure has raised $8 million in funding to foster cross-platform gaming experiences throughout cellular gadgets, consoles and PCs.
This monetary infusion will gasoline the event of their flagship title, an unannounced car shooter sport merging cellular and PC/Console avid gamers onto a unified platform.
The startup is headed by a crew from Pixonics who helped create the Struggle Robots mech combating sport on cellular gadgets. Now they’re making one thing model new within the mecha house.
Korea Funding Companions, a South Korean gaming enterprise capital fund, led the spherical. Different buyers included Woori Expertise Funding Co., Kona Enterprise Companions, and KEK’s pre-seed buyers — The Video games Fund and Play Ventures.
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Michael Ok. Lee, director at Korea Funding Companions, in a press release {that a} honest variety of gamers need extra immersive gameplay and wish to play with their pals who’re on different platforms.
“KEK Entertainment’s vision aligns perfectly with the changing landscape of gaming preferences. Our belief in the potential for a well-designed cross-platform game to resonate with diverse gaming communities is unwavering. We’re thrilled to support KEK on this path,” mentioned Lee.
Origins
Georgy Egorov and Oleg Poroshin, veterans from Pixonics, began the brand new firm a few years in the past. Struggle Robots has generated $750 million in revenues and has been downloaded greater than 250 million occasions because it got here out in 2014. The most typical request was to get the sport on a number of platforms so pals may play collectively.
“Our idea is to make the ultimate mecha shooter experience,” Egorov mentioned. “If we can avoid all the mistakes before and make it casual enough for mobile players and hardcore alike, we can keep the PC players entertained and bring in the mobile players.”
This time, they envision one thing like a mix of Struggle Robots and World of Tanks, the place the motion is slow-paced and gamers can provide you with methods moderately than belief their hand-eye coordination to win video games.
“We have experience in the genre and we like mechas,” mentioned Egorov, in an interview with GamesBeat. “We put effort into what we like, into where our expertise is. We want to bring this experience for our core audience and broaden the appeal.”
The founders have a ardour for the style and needed to create one thing new, mentioned Egorov. Now they’re set to leverage their experience in multiplayer PvP motion to transcend the confines of cellular gaming and create a platform-agnostic mental property.
“I am extremely happy that despite the obviously challenging investment climate, we put together the perfect setup for our journey! Now, we have partners in all major regions for our business: the USA, Asia, and Europe. However, the most important thing is that we have confidence in each of them, and from day one, we feel that we share the vision and vibe. After all, business is about people. I believe that this partnership will be a great basis for building not only a successful game but a new famous media franchise,” Egorov mentioned.
The core philosophy of Kek Leisure facilities on bridging the hole between numerous gaming gadgets to craft a extra linked and inclusive gaming house. Poroshin emphasised the importance of slow-paced shooters in enabling a constant and honest gaming expertise throughout completely different platforms, stressing their strategic strategy and interesting gameplay.
“Why slow-paced shooters? They’re easy to get into, with controls and pace that feel just right whether you’re playing on a high-end PC or tapping on your phone – the experience remains consistent and fair,” mentioned Poroshin, chief product officer. “Slow-paced shooters demand a strategic approach that trumps the quick reflexes often required by their faster-paced counterparts. These games are deep and engaging, and they fit into your life, not the other way around.”
Kek mentioned it had a constructive reception from its early adopter neighborhood for the artwork fashion and early take a look at the sport. Now it’s engaged on launching a comfortable beta launch for gamers on cellular gadgets and on Steam. In among the gameplay, gamers need to kill a non-player boss whereas combating an opposing crew. There’ll doubtless be three completely different factions. The sooner check labored surprisingly effectively on a monitor pad.
Beforehand, the corporate obtained a $3 million pre-seed funding from The Video games Fund and Play Ventures. It has 35 individuals now throughout a number of international locations. The headquarters is in Limassol, Cyprus and the event crew is in Armenia and elsewhere.
As for beginning a brand new firm, Egorov mentioned it’s typically exhausting to implement new concepts in a legacy product. And the artwork fashion, Egorov mentioned, “Our audience thinks realistic images are best choice for them. They are serious folks who want real military experience, with sci fi at the same time. We don’t want to be bounded by modern warfare.”
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