Education games company Muzzy Lane Software bags $450K — has worked with DARPA, National Geographic

A small learning company near Boston gets some big support.

Muzzy Lane Software announced today that it received $450,000 from the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation, a state resource formed to support small business. The Newburyport, Mass.-based educational-game company will use the award to increase employment in product development, professional services, and marketing. This support will bolster its opportunities for continued growth in the digital game-based learning market, one which Ambient Insight says is expected to grow to $8.9 billion by 2017.

The company was founded in 2002, and it works with subject-matter experts to create experiences that gamify learning and practice. Its products help teach history, science, language, business, urban planning, and more on PC and mobile platforms nationwide, delivering products to classrooms, medical facilities, and corporate environments. Muzzy Lane has developed products for National Geographic, DARPA, and McGraw-Hill Education, among others, and has won multiple awards.

Not all serious

Muzzy Lane has just begun branching out beyond serious games with its Making History franchise, a series that originally began as a classroom history teaching tool. After months of beta access in Steam’s Early Access program, the company launched World War I-themed strategy game Making History: The Great War in January of this year. The title, which allows players to play as war-era national leaders, is now available for Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam and other digital platforms.