FunPlus Launches $50 Million Indie Fund

Being an indie developer is hard work, and often burgeoning teams have to take whatever advantages they can get to make it in an increasingly competitive market. On Feb. 17, mobile developer FunPlus announced at the annual DICE Summit its plans to create a $50 million “indie fund” it will award to a new developer.

The company may not be as well-known as Rovio or Zynga. But founded in 2010, it’s one of the longest-lasting mobile game startups that has not only managed to keep its head above water in the financially tumultuous mobile ecosystem, but also consistently turn profits. That’s no mean feat in an environment such as mobile where games statistically have the shortest half life of any other app category. In fact, a report from mobile company Flurry revealed that it takes the average mobile game just two months for its active user base to drop to half of its lifetime peak.

Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, FunPlus chief strategy officer Dan Fiden indicated that while the company will be focusing most of its efforts on mobile developers, the fund is open to any and all indies, regardless of platform.

FunPlus has already chosen a recipient for its first round of funding. The company announced that it will be partnering with Sirvo, a new startup founded by Asher Vollmer of Threes fame. The new studio is currently working on its first release, Guildlings.

“We’re in the business of making games that don’t follow established conventions, and we admire FunPlus not just for being willing to go on this journey with us, but for being enthusiastic about the risks that we’re taking,” Vollmer told Gamesindustry.biz in an interview.