MMO game publisher Turbine raising $40M; former CEO launches Play Hard Sports
Turbine, a game publisher that makes massively-multiplayer online games but may soon be enacting a major strategic shift, is in the process of taking $40 million in new funding led by Granite Global Ventures, according to Dan Primack.
While its Lords of the Ring Online: Shadows of Angmar computer game franchise has found success, expectations are that the company will move toward the console market. Primack also speculates that it could be preparing to take a stab at console gaming.
Turbine also hired a new chief executive last year, which freed former CEO Jeffrey Anderson to recently found Play Hard Sports, which will make casual sports games, reports Massachussets High Tech. A $5 million funding was provided to Play Hard by New Enterprise Associates. VentureBeat wrote about Play hard Sports here.
Returning to Turbine, only $25 million of the $40 million total has been raised so far. Backers joining Granite so far include Highland Capital Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Tudor Ventures and Columbia Capital.
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About the Author, Chris Morrison
Chris Morrison writes about cleantech and environmental issues for VentureBeat, with occasional forays into gaming and semantic technology. He got his start writing about tech for Business 2.0 magazine, but quickly realized new media was the ticket when that institution closed its doors in 2007. Chris has also covered public equities and regulatory issues. He originally hails from southern Virginia, graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington, and now lives in San Francisco.