3rd Eye Studios raises $1 million
Funding from Colopl, Karl Magnus Troedsson and others will go towards 3rd Eye Core VR tools and Downward Spiral IP
3rd Eye Studios has raised $1 million in funding, allowing it to further develop its VR toolset and debut IP, Downward Spiral.
The round had five main contributors: Colopl VR Fund, Sisu Game Ventures, GameFounders, Success Limited and the former EA vice president Karl Magnus Troedsson. The Finnish studio is currently working on an episodic VR title, Downward Spiral, and 3rd Eye Core, a set of development tools for PC, mobile and, most of all, VR.
"It took me less than thirty minutes to decide to invest in the 3rd Eye Studios team," said Troedsson, who also invested in the indie publisher Raw Fury. "An awesome team with great skills and the right attitude, combined with a solid plan on how to build a games development platform, made this a simple decision."
3rd Eye Core is now being tested in China and Finland, and the tools will launch in 2018. Downward Spiral will also launch in the early part of next year.
3rd Eye Studios was founded by Kari Koivistoinen and Kari Huttunen, both veterans of Remedy Entertainment. GamesIndustry.biz spoke to Koivistoinen earlier this year, about both 3rd Eye Core and the Twilight Zone-inspired Downward Spiral.
"We really want to show people what you can do in VR, really showcase the medium," he said. "We want to inspire other developers, but if they want a shortcut they can get our tools and have access to the same features. You'll be able to build better VR with us.
"If you think about all of the good game companies out there, you need a very strong technology side in order to achieve something great. If you use the same tools as everyone else it's way harder to stand out."