Discovery Bay Games nabs $15M from Logitech, Trilogy to improve iOS gaming with accessories

iPad and iPhone accessory maker Discovery Bay Games has raised $15 million in its second round of funding, with a goal of creating better gaming experiences on those devices, the company announced Tuesday.

Discovery Bay Games (DBG) focuses its efforts on making accessories for iOS devices and enhancing gameplay possibilities. Already the company has had success with its Atari Arcade device, which turns an iPad into a mini arcade machine. It also has a Dora the Explorer “backpack” that interacts with an iPad app. This fall, the company will release new products that do even more to make the iPad like a traditional console.

“Gameplay in iOS can be made better with physical devices,” the DBG chief executive officer Michael Sievert told VentureBeat. “iOS is the fastest growing game platform we’ve ever seen, and we’re taking advantage of that trend.”

Seattle’s Trilogy Equity Partners and PC accessory maker Logitech led the new funding. “As a global leader in PC gaming, we understand the magnitude of the opportunity in gaming devices for tablets and mobile phones,” Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca said in a statement.

The majority of the new funds will go toward product development and better gaming peripherals. The company’s secondary goal will be the marketing and sale of its devices. Retailers such as Apple Store, Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us already carry DBG’s Atari Arcade devices, so it hopes to sell through those same outlets with future products.

Seattle-based Discovery Bay Games was founded in 2006 and includes major mobile game developer Gameloft as a partner. Sievert refused to say how many employees the company currently has.

Screenshot: Discovery Bay Games/YouTube