Gaming startup Super Evil Megacorp raised $26 million in Series B funding on Sunday to develop its multi-player online battle arena (MOBA) games into a mass market e-sports.
The company known for its multiplayer online battle arena game Vainglory soon will publish in China in a partnership with Giant Interactive. Giant will work with Super Evil Megacorp to launch the game on iOS and Android later this year.
The company has raised $41 million to date and this round was led by Index Ventures with participation from Signia Ventures, General Catalyst, Raine Ventures, Initial Capital, CrossCut, Korea Investment Partners and venture capitalists Yuri Milner and Jim Breyer.
With e-sport business on rise the company is working on evolving Vainglory, into the world’s first mass-market e-sport. Released on mobile devices last fall, the title has accumulated more than 1.5 million monthly active users and 270,000 viewers watching the battles on Twitch, an online streaming video platform.
“We’ve been delighted to see the rapid growth of Vainglory — both in player numbers and viewer numbers,” Super Evil Megacorp, CEO, Kristian Segerstrale, wrote in a blog post. “We were thrilled to see the first broadcasts from the Vainglory World Invitationals with OGN, and the awesome reception for our new spectator system. And we’ve been overwhelmed by the continued support and help from our players around the world.”
The company also unveiled its’ Vainglory International Premier League’ which will feature elite teams from locations like Korea, Europe, North America and China competing for a $70,000 prize pool. The six week league will be broadcasted twice a week live on prime-time TV in Korea and streamed online.