Realtime Worlds secures £31m in funding

Dundee-based developer Realtime Worlds has secured US$31 million (23.2 million Euro) in funding from venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.

Realtime Worlds will use the money to develop new videogame franchises and recruit new programming and game development staff. Under the terms of the agreement, NEA principal Patrick Chung and NEA partner Harry Weller will join the company's board of directors. Ian Hetherington will remain in his role as chairman.

Realtime Worlds was founded by CEO and Creative Director David Jones, who created the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings games franchises. These two franchises have reached combined global sales exceeding 70 million units, generating over US$2.5 billion.

The studio plans to release its first title, Crackdown, on Xbox 360 next year. Realtime is also currently working on MMO All Points Bulletin, which will be published on PC and Xbox 360 by Korean publisher Webzen.

"NEA is a thought leader in the global investment community. The quality of this commitment is a reflection of the technological and creative ability that exists at Realtime Worlds," said Hetherington.

Studio founder and CEO David Jones added, "We are developing a global centre of excellence for some of the worldâs best games developers that is really quite breathtaking.

"Together with NEA, we will use this investment to build on the quality of Crackdown and All Points Bulletin and to build new gaming experiences for game consoles, such as Microsoftâs Xbox 360 and PC online."

"NEA has spent three decades seeking out and backing the world's most visionary entrepreneurs. We are honoured to have the opportunity to work with David Jones and his team as they create revolutionary new games," commented Chung.