Israeli gaming startup Overwolf, which developed a platform that helps game creators to build, distribute, and monetize in-game apps and mods, closed a $52.5 million Series C funding round. The investment was led by Griffin Gaming Partners and Insight Partners, with participation from Warner Music Group; Gaming giant UBISOFT; Former Quibi and HP CEO Meg Whitman; Gen.G Co-Founder, Kevin Chou; and existing investors Marker, Intel Capital, Liberty Technology Venture Capital, and Atreides Management. Speculations put the round at a $200 million company valuation.
Launching a new platform following Amazon acquisition
Along with the funding, Overwolf also launched its CurseForge Core platform - a new User Generated Content (UGC) as a service platform, which provides an SDK for game developers that integrates into the game itself and functions as a gateway for users to discover and install mods in-game, across all platforms and storefronts. Overwolf purchased CurseForge from Twitch back in June of last year.
Overwolf states that the platform takes over and manages content moderation, UGC-related live ops, and creator payment, enabling game developers and studios to access community-created content easily without incurring additional costs. Players can install and manage mods from anywhere, while enjoying a detailed usage and trends dashboard.
“There are developers earning over $100k a month in our community”
Head of Corporate Development at UBISOFT, Oscar Navarro praised the Israeli startup, responding to the round, saying that Overwolf is “developing the holy grail of frameworks for UGC for both publishers and in-game creators. Enabling all major publishers like us, to allow the creation of mods in a safe, secure, authorized, and profitable manner; is a game-changer for all creators and IP holders.
We asked Overwolf CEO Uri Marchand about his thoughts regarding Navarro’s words and the fact that UBISOFT - like many major corporations - doesn’t really adopt community-based initiatives. We also inquired if the platform is planned to be incorporated in AAA games like Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry 6?
Marchand: “While I can’t share specific plans at this moment, I’m excited to update that we are seeing a paradigm shift with big corporations, who understand the value of community-sourced initiatives, and are looking for ways to do it right. This is one of the main reasons that attracted UBISOFT and other game developers to invest in Overwolf.”
What’s the final destination? IPO? M&A?
Marchand: “We are essentially defining a new global profession, which we call in-game creators. Similar to YouTube stars banking on video content, mod and extension developers for games can actually make a living from it. There are developers earning over $100k a month in our community, and we aim to continue cultivating this new age profession. Starting out, the dream was to scale and sell. Now though, the dream is to continue developing the profession, allowing creators to earn a living from application and mod development, and build a company that provides a social impact.”
Overwolf was founded in 2010 by Marchand, Gil Or, and Alon Rabinowitz. The company has raised close to $75 million to date, and employs a team of 80 people at its Israeli offices. Overwolf added that the funds will help improve and develop existing product offerings, in addition, to adding new tools and investing in the company’s global gaming and developer community.
