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What are the chances of a game studio getting VC?

4 points by w-ll ↗ HN
Some friends and I have started working on a game. A social game some would call it. We got some basic game mechanics already implemented, but have not nearly enough art, and are still working feverishly away with just place-holder-art. Some funding would defiantly help, do VC's, Ycombinator, or another other investors ever invest in games?

5 comments

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wmf
Search the archives; there was a discussion recently about why game studios generally don't fit the VC model. There are always exceptions, but you should know what the objections are before trying to be one.
xg
The biggest issue here is that most VCs are hesitant to invest in hits-based businesses. This means: they don't want to bet on you creating a hit game, hit show, etc before you have any user traction.

If you have interesting proprietary technology involved in the game or you can figure out a cheap way to acquire users and get some traction, you have a much better chance of securing some investment.

newobj
You sound like you'd better off going on TIGsource and showing a demo of your game and then trying to enlist help from artists.
listic
What makes your game social? How much funding do you need?

Please drop me a line at nleschov at gmail