Big Viking Games, an independent mobile- and social-focused video game studio with offices in Toronto and London, Ontario, has received a total of $21.75 million in funding.
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) provided $18 million in financing in partnership with Export Development Canada (EDC) and BDC Capital, Growth and Transition also contributed $3.75 million in an earlier funding round.
“Starting in 2012, we made the decision to make significant investments in HTML5 instant games because we saw the potential of the technology and how it will define the future of mobile gaming and entertainment,” said Albert Lai, co-founder and CEO, Big Viking Game, in a statement sent to MobileSyrup. “Others have moved away from HTML5 due to the technical investment required but we believe that open standards and more powerful devices will pave the way for a massive shift on mobile phones and tablets.”
The 100 plus employee studio is behind relatively unknown mainstream games like YoWorld and Fish that have a dedicated following of players. Lai’s studio also recently purchased Gallop Labs’ a research analytics firm, adding some of the company’s staff to Big Viking Games.
Big Viking has the ultimate goal of raising approximately $60 million dollars in order to continue its investment in HTML5 mobile titles that run in browsers, with plans to add 200 more positions at the company. The studio was founded back in 2011.
