HELSINKI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Finnish game developer Supercell announced that it has secured an investment of $12 million from Accel Partners, the leading global venture capital firm with a wealth of experience in the gaming industry. Their previous investments include Rovio (Angry Birds), Playfish, Gameforge and Mind Candy (Moshi Monsters), in addition to consumer internet success stories like Facebook, Groupon and Kayak. Klaas Kersting, founder of German browser-game giant Gameforge and currently CEO of flaregames has also invested in the round, as did London Venture Partners, one of Supercell's previous investors. The other previous investors of the company include Initial Capital, Cerval Investments and Lifeline Ventures.
Supercell’s team is led by gaming industry veterans who have collectively developed more than 165 games across 12 platforms. Supercell will develop titles for gamers who want online browser-based games that are bigger in scope than the most social games, but less involved than massively-multiplayer games. The team has developed a proprietary and scalable technology platform along with a unique conversion tool that allows them to build high quality game features across different platforms.
The company was founded in June 2010, and released the Closed Beta of its debut game, Gunshine.net, in February this year. The game bridges the gap between browser-based massively-multiplayer games and social games, with deep online gameplay and extensive social features. Since starting the Closed Beta, the company has developed Gunshine.net in close co-operation with its fan community. Now that the product is about to enter Open Beta and will become available for everyone to play, the investment will help Supercell accelerate its growth, expand its team and also release new games and target new platforms.
Kevin Comolli, a Partner in the London office of Accel, will join the Supercell Board of Directors. Comolli previously led Accel’s investment in Playfish where he served on the Board of Directors. “We are thrilled to be investors in Supercell and to be working with this incredibly talented and experienced team. We enthusiastically share their conviction regarding the opportunity to develop a new category of online games.”
“We are proud to have Accel and Mr.Kersting as investors. Given Accel’s extensive experience and track record in gaming, internet and social media, their investment is a powerful endorsement of Supercell’s vision of combining the power of social networks with deep and immersive core games that are instantly accessible from anywhere, anytime,” said Ilkka Paananen, CEO of Supercell.
For more information about Supercell, visit http://supercell.net. For more information about Gunshine.net, visit http://gunshine.net.
About Accel Partners
Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with offices in Palo Alto, California, New York City, London, New Delhi and Bangalore, as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel.
Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful companies, many of which have defined their categories, including Actuate, AdMob, Agile Software, Alfresco, AMCC, Arrowpoint, Atlassian, BBN, Brightcove, Check24, ComScore, Etsy, Facebook, Foundry Networks, Gameforge, GlamMedia, Groupon, Imperva, Infinera, Interwoven, IronPlanet, JBoss, Kayak, Macromedia, metroPCS, OPOWER, Polycom/PictureTel, Playfish, Portal Software, QlikTech, Quidsi (Diapers.com), Rapt, Real Networks, Redback Networks, Responsys, Riverbed, SupportSoft, UUNet, Veritas, Walmart.com, Webroot, Wily Technology, Wonga, XenSource and Zimbra. For more information, please visit the Accel Partners web site at www.accel.com, or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/accel.
About Supercell
Founded in June 2010, Supercell’s team is led by gaming industry veterans who have collectively developed more than 165 games across 12 platforms. The company was founded on the idea that the best people make the best games, and that development should be an open dialog between developer and player. Supercell will develop titles for gamers who want online browser-based games that are bigger in scope than the most social games, but less involved than massively-multiplayer games. The company released the Closed Beta of its debut game, Gunshine.net, in February this year. The game bridges the gap between browser-based massively-multiplayer games and social games, with deep online gameplay and extensive social features.