Sharing video is already a huge part of gaming, and one of the companies bringing that to mobile just got some new, big partners.
Kamcord, which makes software that developers can plug into their games to so that players can share gameplay video, has raised $15 million in a Series B funding round. Megasuccessful Japanese developer GungHo Online Entertainment, responsible for the hit Puzzle & Dragon match-3 role-playing game for mobile, led the investment round. Chinese online company Tencent, owner of League of Legends studio Riot, and World of Tanks developer Wargaming also made significant investments in Kamcord. The round also saw participation from TransLink Capital, M&Y Growth Partners, Merus Capital, XG Ventures, Reddit executive chairman Alexis Ohanian, and a number of other individual investors.
The startup will use this influx of cash to continue its expansion in Asia and especially Japan. Kamcord recently opened an office in that highly important mobile-gaming market, and building a relationship with GungHo, Tencent, and Wargaming should help the company establish itself as the go-to solution for studios looking to implement gameplay recording and sharing. In total, Kamcord has raised $25 million in funding.
Kamcord is reaching a massive audience. More than 1.3 million people create original gameplay videos each month using Kamcord. That is more than the 1 million people livestreaming video on the gameplay livestreaming site Twitch, which Amazon bought in August for $970 million. Twitch provides mobile livestreaming, but it is only in a few games at this time and only on iOS.
AI Weekly
The must-read newsletter for AI and Big Data industry written by Khari Johnson, Kyle Wiggers, and Seth Colaner.
Included with VentureBeat Insider and VentureBeat VIP memberships.
Kamcord introduced iOS gameplay recording in 2012, but its Android kit didn’t debut until earlier this year. And getting the Kamcord software up and running on Google’s mobile OS has accelerated developer adoption of the platform.
“The development of the leading Android gameplay recording solution has played a huge part in Kamcord’s rapid growth,” Kamcord co-founder Aditya Rathnam said. “Kamcord’s Android SDK now reaches as many devices as its iOS SDK.”
The company is now getting video from 20-times the devices it did in May, when the company raised $7.1 million in a series A funding round.
Kamcord makes money by licensing the SDK to developers.
While Kamcord is growing, it’s not the only player in this space. Everyplay also provides mobile recording of gameplay on iOS and Android — although, its technology does not work on as many versions of Android as Kamcord.
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Learn More