Robin Games, a gaming startup led by a female leader, has announced its seed round worth of $7 million, as it made its public debut, in order to combine lifestyle content with fantasy gaming. This funding round has been led by early-stage fund LVP with the participation of Third Kind Venture Capital, firstminute Capital, Hearst Ventures, 1Up Ventures, Greycroft Tracker Fund, Everblue Management, and Alpha Edison. Previously, LVP had also invested in other gaming firms including NaturalMotion, Supercell and Playfish.
Jill Wilson, who is a former Jam City executive and led teams in many gaming franchises including Panda Pop and Cookie Jam, has founded the Robin Games, where most of the team members are women who create a new niche in mobile entertainment to which they have provided a name ‘lifestyle gaming’.
Jill Wilson, the Founder and CEO of Robin Games states, “Traditionally in gaming, when you say ‘fantasy,’ you mean dragons and other mythical creatures, disproportionately built women, armies and battles and explosions and glory.” She explains, “As a lifelong gamer, I love (most) of these themes, but traditional gamers are no longer in the majority. Thanks to the smartphone, everyone now has access to a gaming console in their pockets. We are expanding the definition of “fantasy” for this modern wave of gamers, whose fantasies are just as diverse as they are.”
Jill includes, “We are focused on developing games that are deeply sophisticated under the hood, with an elevated, real-world, approachable style that reflects more of the lifestyle content you’d previously see outside of gaming.”
According to the CEO, there are nine team members in Robin Games based in Venice Beach. Among these nine, 80% are female and everyone has previously worked together to build hit games. In order to better realize its vision and to enhance the gaming industry, Robin Games is focused on building out a diverse team instead of hiring employees.
The CEO states, “Our mission goes beyond filling a gap in the market. We’re really looking to shake up the games industry, not only redefining what a modern game team looks like, but also changing the definition itself of what it means to be a gamer.”
