Zattikka, the creator of Phantom Mansion, Finger Frenzy and Balloon Headed Boy for the iPhone has just received a cool USD 5.5 million in funding. This will be used to expand Zattika’s games portfolio which already has an excess of 100 games with at least 2 games being added to it each week! Check out the following press release:
ZATTIKKA SECURES $5.5M FUNDING TO DRIVE GROWTH IN KEY MARKETS
London, 21 July 2010 – Zattikka is pleased to announce it has raised $5.5m through its parent company Expedite 5, Inc. Attracted by the interactive gaming company’s strong management team and unique growth strategy, the investment is led by Notion Capital and a group of private individuals including Harald Ludwig. Zattikka will use the funding to invest in recruitment, research and development and marketing to further broaden its portfolio of browser and mobile games, taking advantage of the diversifying audiences for social gaming.
Tim Chaney and Mark Opzoomer, two former Virgin games executives, founded the business in August 2009. Tim is a gaming industry stalwart, with 25 years of experience in the videogame industry, and Mark, former CEO of Yahoo! Europe and Rambler Media, is a business strategist with a proven track record of success. With this formidable team, Zattikka has quickly established its challenger position in the industry and already has more than 100 games under its belt. Zattikka now develops at least two new games every week, and has a total of over 77 million recorded game plays from across its entire games portfolio since August 2009.
Through the acquisition of popular portal Gimme5Games, which hosts titles such as the Phantom Mansion series, in September 2009 and expansion of its portfolio sites to include BadHed, for games that appeal to the dedicated hardcore gaming market, Zattikka is fulfilling its vision of delivering an online gaming experience to suit all interests.
“Over the past two years the consumer appetite for online gaming has increased significantly with revenue already standing at over $2.25bn in 2008 and growing 20 per cent per annum. This much broader audience is being driven by females and premium gamers developing a passion for casual social gaming,” said Tim Chaney, CEO, Zattikka. “To successfully operate in such a competitive fast-growth industry we are focused on developing games that appeal to the different demographics of this wider audience. This round of funding led by Notion Capital means we can now push ahead with recruiting even more skilled people and put substantial investment behind product development and marketing.”
“Online social gaming is one of the most exciting markets at the moment, and many companies have emerged to try and take advantage of this,” said Ian Milbourn, founding partner at Notion Capital, an investment fund for Internet-based services. “In such a highly competitive market Zattikka stands out not only by its phenomenal growth but also by its unique vision and the strength of its senior team.”
“Tim’s experience of building and successfully exiting two gaming companies, combined with Mark’s experience in growing businesses, makes for a compelling proposition. In comparison to the average gaming company which is dependent on one product, Zattikka is dedicated to owning as much IP as it can and generating as many great products as it can. The team has the experience, the strategy and the products to successfully tap into each of the emerging audiences for casual social gaming, and is fast on its way to becoming a household name and matching the likes of Zynga.”
Zattikka’s management team will be further strengthened by access to an expert Board led by Harald Ludwig, co-chair of Lionsgate Entertainment.
Between Q4 2009 and Q2 2010 Zattikka increased its average monthly unique users by 76 per cent and exceeded 1 million unique users in June, 2010. Of these visits, 69 per cent were from regions such as the US, Western Europe and Japan, where consumer demand for online social gaming is increasing exponentially.
