Gaming startup Odyssey Interactive launches with $7.9 million CAD

游戏初创公司Odyssey Interactive以790万加元价格上市

2020-09-26 03:00 Lingua Greca

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Video game startup Odyssey Interactive has officially launched in Kitchener-Waterloo and announced $7.9 million CAD ($6 million USD) in seed financing. The capital represents Odyssey Interactive’s first round of funding. The seed round closed in April and consisted entirely of equity. Investors included Andreessen Horowitz, Golden Ventures, A16z Cultural Leadership Fund, as well as angel investors, including Eros Resmini of Discord, Kevin Lin of Twitch, Steve Chen of YouTube, and Paul Della Bitta of Blizzard. The financing will be used to build Odyssey Interactive’s studio and hire developers in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. Odyssey Interactive’s goal is to develop mobile games that create a sense of community and purpose for players within the 13 to 18 age demographic. The startup is hoping to rival major video game companies like Activision Blizzard, Supercell, and Y8 Games. The founding team consists of CEO Richard Henkel, president Dax Andrus, chief compliance officer David Capurro, and chief technology officer Eric Lawless, each of whom has led development teams at companies including Netflix, League of Legends creator Riot Games, and Teamfight Tactics. Odyssey Interactive intends to replicate the experiences of games like League of Legends or World of Warcraft for the next generation of gamers. “While these games span across genres and decades, they all have something important in common, they created communities that helped us feel like we were part of something bigger than just a game,” Odyssey Interactive’s co-founders wrote in a recent blog post. “With the next generation having grown up with phones being their primary gaming platform, we believe they deserve the same experiences that we had, and should have games purpose-built for them that can become a core part of their lives,” the co-founders added. RELATED: FansUnite Entertainment to acquire Askott Entertainment and create new gaming tech company Henkel told BetaKit Odyssey Interactive is going after mobile gaming because the team noticed the majority of younger players are trending towards that medium for gaming. Despite this trend, Henkel said most mobile games aren’t able to provide a sense of community and longevity. “Mobile phones have largely been the great equalizer for all the demographics of the world,” Henzel told BetaKit. “Before, making PC games usually meant that you came from a family that could afford a PC and good internet so you could play online games, whereas phones are a thing that pretty much everyone has access to.” Odyssey Interactive’s games will focus on design choices that can build social systems, and moment to moment gameplay that keeps players engaged and creates player connections. Henkel told BetaKit the startup’s plan is to monetize games through in-app purchases, while keeping the apps free to download. According to a 2019 report from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, Canada’s video game industry contributes $4.5 billion to the national GDP annually, representing a 20 percent increase in GDP contribution over 2017. Odyssey Interactive’s founders previously worked in the United States but opted to establish the company in Canada, Henkel told BetaKit, because of the strong startup ecosystem in Canada. “Canada is set up to be very conducive to startups, especially in interactive media, through tax credits like SR&ED and the digital media tax credit,” Henkel said. RELATED: Gaming software company Unity expanding Montreal office, opening AI lab The CEO told BetaKit the startup will likely set up camp in Communitech as it lands in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, but aims to eventually secure space closer to the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. Now it has launched, the startup will begin to expand its four-person team to 15 or 20 within the next two years. Henkel indicated the startup is looking to leverage its position in Kitchener-Waterloo to tap developer talent from the region’s post-secondary institutions. “We were deciding between Toronto and Waterloo, and ultimately decided on Waterloo because of its insane tech scene, especially relative to its size,” Henzel said. Odyssey is launching a studio as the world is still facing the COVID-19 pandemic. The startup intends to be more open to remote work given the pandemic, but the hope is that once the startup ramps up hiring and health advisories permit, the team will be able to work in the studio. With a goal to launch its first game by the end of 2021, Odysseyplans to move its first gaming prototype to pre-production by October, followed by production and go-to-market planning by January 2021. Image source Unsplash. Photo by Josue Ladoo Pelegrin.
视频游戏初创公司Odyssey Interactive在基奇纳-滑铁卢正式上市,并宣布获得790万加元(合600万美元)的种子融资。这是Odyssey Interactive成立以来的第一轮融资。 种子轮融资于今年4月结束,均为股权融资。投资者包括Andreessen Horowitz,Golden Ventures,A16z Culture Leadership Fund等公司,以及Discord的Eros Resmini,Twitch的Kevin Lin,YouTube的Steve Chen(陈士俊)和Blizzard的Paul Della Bitta等天使投资人。 融资基金将用于建设Odyssey Interactive公司的工作室,以及雇佣基奇纳-滑铁卢地区的开发人员。 Odyssey Interactive公司以开发手机游戏为目标,为13至18岁年龄段的玩家创造一种社区感和目标感,有希望与Activision Blizzard,Supercell以及Y8 Games等大型视频游戏公司相匹敌。 公司创始团队由首席执行官理查德·汉高(Richard Henkel),总裁达克斯·安德鲁斯(Dax Andrus),首席合规官大卫·卡普罗(David Capurro)和首席技术官埃里克·劳利斯(Eric Lawless)组成,他们曾分别领导过奈飞(Netflix),《英雄联盟》创建者拳头游戏(Riot Games)以及云顶之奕(Teamfight Tactics)的开发团队。 Odyssey Interactive想复制《英雄联盟》或《魔兽世界》等游戏的经验,让下一代玩家有相似的体验感。 Odyssey Interactive的联合创始人最近的一篇博客文章中写道:“这些游戏虽然有不同流派,来自不同年代,但都有一些重要的共同点,那就是它们都创造了社区,让我们感觉自己不仅仅是身处一个游戏之中,而是身处一个更大的世界。” 联合创始人还补充说:“下一代人是和手机一起长大的,手机已经成为他们主要的游戏平台,我们认为他们应该得到与我们相同的体验,我们应该为他们专门定制能够成为他们生活核心的游戏。” 扩展:FansUnite Entertainment收购Askott Entertainment并创建新的游戏技术公司 Henkel说,Odyssey Interactive之所以关注手机游戏,是因为该团队注意到大多数年轻玩家都倾向于移动游戏。汉高说,尽管有这种趋势,但大多数手机游戏并不能提供社区感和长寿感。 Henzel还提到:“从很大程度上来说,手机已经成为世界上所有人的平衡器。”“以前,制作PC游戏通常意味着你来自一个能够买得起PC和良好互联网的家庭,这样你才可以玩在线游戏,而现在手机是几乎每个人都能接触到的东西。” Odyssey Interactive的游戏会把重心放在社交系统构建的设计上,以及可以让玩家参与其中并与其他玩家建立联系的即时玩法。据Henkel说,Odyssey Interactive的计划是应用程序可以免费下载,通过应用程序内的交易来让游戏变现,。 加拿大娱乐软件协会2019年的一份报告表明,加拿大视频游戏产业每年为全国GDP贡献45亿美元,比2017年增长了20%。Henkel透露,Odyssey Interactive的创始人以前在美国工作,但选择在加拿大建立公司,就是因为加拿大强大的创业生态系统。 Henkel说:“加拿大设立SR&ED和数字媒体税收抵免等税收抵免政策,这对于初创企业,特别是互动媒体领域的初创企业非常有利。” 相关:游戏软件公司Unity扩建蒙特利尔办事处,建立人工智能实验室 这位首席执行官说,这家初创公司可能会在基奇纳-滑铁卢地区的Communitech安营扎寨,但最终目标是在滑铁卢大学(the University of Waterloo )和劳瑞尔大学(Wilfrid Laurier University)附近。 现在公司已经上市,在未来两年内,公司计划将其四人团队扩大到15或20人。Henkel表示,公司正寻求提升自身在基奇纳-滑铁卢地区的地位,从该地区的高等教育机构中挖掘开发人才。 Henkel说:“我们之前在多伦多和滑铁卢之间摇摆不定,但因为滑铁卢疯狂的科技场景,尤其是相对于规模而言,所以我们最终决定选择了它。” Odyssey正在启动一个工作室,因为世界仍面临着新冠疫情大的威胁。鉴于流感大流行,这家初创公司的计划更倾向于远程工作,但一旦初创公司加大招聘力度和健康允许,团队就能在工作室工作。 Odyssey的目标是在2021年底推出第一款游戏,并计划在今年10月将第一款游戏原型推进到预制作阶段,然后进行制作,在2021年1月前上市。 图像源Unsplash。照片由若苏埃拉杜佩莱格林(Josue Ladoo Pelegrin)提供。

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