Interactive Gaming Ventures has joined forces with Epic Games to identify independent game developers building promising titles using Unreal Engine 4, and to bring teams meeting desirable criteria into the their investment portfolio.
Led by former PlayStation President and CEO Jack Tretton, Interactive Gaming Ventures plans to invest in two to three experienced indie teams per year, at $1 million to $5 million per project, over the next seven years.
“We are looking to provide exceptional independent teams building games with Unreal Engine the support structure, cash infusion, marketing resources and relationships that will help them achieve incredible financial returns,” said Tretton, Managing Partner, Interactive Gaming Ventures.
When a studio takes investment from Interactive Gaming Ventures, it maintains control of its IP and creation process. Interactive Gaming Ventures helps fund milestone deliverables, manages promotion and distribution, and then shares in a project’s success once it ships.
“This partnership falls perfectly in line with Epic’s philosophy, meaning that we only succeed when developers succeed,” said Joe Kreiner, head of Unreal Engine business development at Epic. “From programs like Unreal Dev Grants to one-to-one conversations where we connect teams with strategic opportunities, we have an honest motivation to help our licensees get ahead. We couldn’t be happier to make it even easier for Interactive Gaming Ventures to get behind Unreal indies.”
Interactive Gaming Ventures provides investment capital and management strategy to help independent developers force-multiply their scale and success, focusing on teams looking to ship first on PC, with the option of taking their game to console and mobile as well.
Joining Tretton in leadership at Interactive Gaming Ventures is Studio Wildcard CEO Doug Kennedy, whose company is behind the Unreal Engine-powered ARK: Survival Evolved franchise, which has sold more than 13 million copies across PC, console, mobile and VR platforms.
“Epic has been an incredibly supportive partner for Studio Wildcard over the years,” said Kennedy. “ARK: Survival Evolved started off as an independent game released in early access and grew to be a phenomenon beyond our wildest dreams, thanks in part to the Unreal community and Epic’s support. This is a foundation of stability and massive potential, and we’re looking to build on it in collaboration with even more Unreal Enginedevelopers.”
To contact Interactive Gaming Ventures, visit interactivegamingventures.com.
Download Unreal Engine and get started for free at unrealengine.com.
