Earthbound Games Funding to Enable Greater Player Focus

Ross Kelly

21 September 2018, 11.58am

Dundee-based Earthbound Games has secured £750,000 in equity funding.

Earthbound Games, an indie games developer based in Dundee, has secured £750,000 in equity funding. The cash injection will enable the company to support the development and distribution of its upcoming flagship PC game, Axiom Soccer.

The company was founded by developers with previous experience working on world-renowned titles such as Grand Theft Auto, Crackdown and APB with the aim to develop a new generation of digital spectator sports. Viewers of such titles are able to actively involve themselves within the world.

Funding? Completed it.

The investment has been spearheaded by board director, Neil Heywood, who commands a strong reputation in the game industry with previous experience as executive chairman and investors at VR audio firm, Two Big Ears. The company was acquired by Facebook in 2016.

Heywood also serves on the board of analytics company, deltaDNA. The funding was, in part, also secured through the involvement of Tim Christian – board director at deltaDNA and chairman of Dimensional Imaging.

Trend Setters

Earthbound Games appears to be breaking an industry trend with this funding announcement, as it intends to self-publish. Significant titles such as Axiom Soccer are largely developed by a studio which works in partnership with a publisher.

The latter covers the cost of marketing and distribution, development costs and, crucially, has a significant influence upon profits and the product itself.

However, Earthbound said that by making the decision to self-publish, the Axiom Soccer team will be able to directly engage and connect with players. Through this, they will use extensive feedback to improve user experience and test groundbreaking interactive spectator features.

“Equity funding and self-publishing isn’t the traditional way to make and distribute high-quality PC games,” Heywood said. “But if you’ve got a great game, there’s an opportunity to create a community, by communicating directly with the players.”

Heywood added that through the self-publishing method, the company has been able to attract support from established industry figures with a passion for games.

Player-First Approach

Chris Stamp, CEO at Earthbound Games, underlined the company’s commitment to a “player-first approach”.

“We’ve put the publishers to the back of the equation with Axiom Soccer,” Stamp commented. “That’s allowed us to take a truly player-first approach and connect the development of the game with our community.”

Stamp noted that the opportunity to finely tune the game based on player feedback is an exciting prospect and one the company relishes.

“Having made published games for more than thirty years, it’s incredibly exciting to be working with such a talented team, and to be creating a game which is so finely tuned to the feedback we’re receiving from our players.”