Tech startup Overdog raises $1.8M to improve Xbox One matchmaking

If you don’t go online with a group of friends, you’ll usually end up in multiplayer matches with strangers and people you probably don’t want to talk to. One startup is trying to fix that.

Overdog is a new company that is priming to launch a new app on Xbox One that will match you up with people you may not hate in multiplayer games. To help bring the product to market, Overdog just closed a funding round worth $1.8 million with participation from capital firms like Atlas Venture and Chicago Ventures. Individual investors like Zynga founder Mark Pincus and Machinima founder Allen Debevoise also contributed to this round. The developer told GamesBeat that it will use the cash for marketing, hiring talent, and building the app for a second platform.

“We couldn’t be happier with the make up of our investor group,” Overdog chief executive officer Steve Berneman said in a statement. “Two venture firms with proven track records and a great group of strategic angels position Overdog well as we revolutionize online gaming.”

The Overdog app is all about connecting gamers with people they would find interesting.

“If you love Game of Thrones, the San Fransisco 49ers, The Black Keys, and OpTic Gaming, we think those factors should help determine who you play with when you sit down for a game of Call of Duty,” Overdog president and former NFL linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer told GamesBeat. “Overdog can find the ideal gaming partner for whatever game you are about to play, and, of equal importance, we can help filter out the bad apples. A platform that makes who you are in the real world relevant to your gamer-self is long overdue.”

The app is due out soon for Xbox One, but Hillenmeyer said that his team hopes to have plenty of capital left over to move on to a second, unspecified platform in the near future. In the end, the company wants its app on everything.

“Our goals are to be in a very healthy spot with Xbox One and deploying on a second gaming platform before we have to raise money again,” he said. “We want to improve matchmaking for online gamers across all platforms, whether that’s Xbox, PlayStation, mobile and tablet, or even some virtual reality ecosystem that has yet to materialize.”