Earlier this year, Denmu launched its debut fund with a $50 million target. The firm has now closed the oversubscribed fund, surpassing its initial goal.
“We started Denmu to back games with a clear creative identity and to build lasting relationships with the people making them,” said CEO Ryan You. “Closing above our target gives us more capacity to do just that.”
“Each game developer needs a different combination of funding, production support, and access to players. Our job is to understand those unique individual needs and build a partnership that works for both the game and the studio over time.”
When GamesIndustry.biz spoke to You and creative director Michael Fan back in June, Denmu had invested in projects including The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, Blue Protocol: Star Resonance, Bleach: Soul Resonance, Labyrinth of the Demon King, MotorSlice, and Silly Polybeast.
Denmu has now disclosed investments in Guildford-based Fuse Games and its debut title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer; Maverick Games’ Clutch, following its partnership with Focus Entertainment; and Kyle Thompson’s Well Dweller, published by Denmu affiliate Top Hat Studios.
Denmu also invested in Dark Star Games’ DABA: Land of Water and became a strategic partner of PlayStation’s China Hero Project, which supports individual projects from Chinese game developers.
As You previously told GamesIndustry.biz, Denmu’s initial fund “is not going to change the industry – [it’s] just a prototype.”
“Our goal down the road is to provide an alternative link between capital and the games industry, which is very much needed. There are a lot of capital sources that are interested in games. They grew up playing video games and it’s hard for them to deploy capital if they are not in the industry.”
“A lot of VCs left. We want to provide an alternative way for them to deploy capital to the industry, and the industry can benefit from that.”