London Venture Partners invests in developer Klang Games, vets of Eve Online

A few veterans from Icelandic developer CCP Games have nailed down an investment agreement that will enable it to push through with the production of its first game.

Developer Klang Games has signed a deal that will have venture-capital firm London Venture Partners injecting cash into the company’s current future projects. Klang is in the process of developing a platformer game called ReRunners for smartphones and tablets that has players competing with one another asynchronously online. While mobile gaming has grown into a $30 billion business, it is typically tough for game studios to find venture funding. But London Venture Partners is one of the few that specializes in this marketplace, and it will bring a history of working in the gaming sector to its deal with Klang.

But even though LVP is comfortable investing in game developers, it likely didn’t hurt Klang’s case that its founders come from one of the most successful studios in the Nordics. Ívar Emilsson and Oddur Magnússon, who established Klang in 2013, worked for years on games like Eve Online and Dust 514 at famed developer CCP Games. The two have brought on artist Mundi Vondi and moved to Berlin — where they have had an easier time finding talent.

Above: From left: Oddur Magnússon, Ívar Emilsson, and Mundi Vondi.

Image Credit: Klang

In a statement, Magnússon explained that Klang’s goals and beliefs are that games should “appeal to the everyday gamer in an instantly accessible form.” And that’s what the company is aiming for as it moves ahead with releasing ReRunners.

I got to watch to watch Magnússon play ReRunners over his shoulder at the Slush Play gaming event in Iceland earlier this year, and it definitely nailed the idea of instant appeal. Check out the video below for an idea of what the game looks like in action:

https://youtu.be/rnJq358rOb4