London-based mobile video game studio Landmark has raised $4.6m (£3.9m) in a seed funding round following a number of projects from the company’s founders elsewhere.
Founded in 2021, the management of Landmark has previously developed games based on popular IP, including Rick and Morty: Pocket Mortys.
Landmark has said its focus will be on developing games based on cooperation between friends, having observed the recent success of other games on mobile following that model.
“We want to fundamentally change the experience by dismantling the negative expectations of being out-skilled or pummelled by your friends in exchange for joining what should be a fun gaming session,” said CEO Dave Burpitt.
“There are billions of potential players who love the idea of fast-paced action in a highly social experience that is put off by the ultra-competitive and often anti-social environment. It takes a different approach to build a studio dedicated to this huge audience and we are ahead of the curve here at Landmark.”
The new funding will go towards the development of Landmark’s debut project, Sea of Souls.
The investment round was led by Project A and InReach Ventures and featured participation from existing investors Moonfire Ventures, Concept Ventures, and several angel investors.
“We were looking for a hybrid genre mobile game for quite a while before coming across Dave, James, and Jon at Landmark Games,” said Jack Wang, principal at Project A Ventures.
“After the first playtest of Sea of Souls we got really excited about the core game loop as it was a combination of bite-sized missions that you can play on a bus ride, collect weapons, items etc. and then use those items on longer group raids in the evenings with your friends.”