Nifty Games™, A New Name In Interactive Entertainment Specializing in Sports Video games: Receives $3 Million in Seed Round

San Francisco, CA – November 28, 2018, – Nifty Games™, a brand-new video game publisher  announced its initial capital raise today. Founded by gaming industry veterans Jon Middleton and Pete Wanat, Nifty Games has been formed to deliver high quality sports games on mobile and digital platforms for a large global audience, targeting passionate sports fans.

The founding investors include many notable names from the investment, professional sports and gaming communities, including: esports and video game investment leader aXiomatic Gaming and venture capital firms March Capital Partners and Defy.VC.

Nifty Games will focus on head-to-head free to play mobile and digital experiences, presenting a uniquely different gaming experience for sports fans.

Commenting on the formation of Nifty Games, Jon Middleton, Founder & CEO said, “We’ve built Nifty Games to create innovative sports games for today’s sports fans. The talent and experience on the team is second to none, and we believe our unique product direction and focus on quality will deliver a step change in mobile gaming to sports fans worldwide. It’s a great vote of confidence to have the support of such highly regarded investors in our initial equity financing. With investment from team owners from all five major North American pro sports leagues, as well as successful game industry leaders and institutional tech investors, we’re off to a great start.” 

“We’re excited about Nifty Games’ vision for delivering high-quality, sports-based mobile games,” said Bruce Stein, Co-Founder and CEO of aXiomatic. “This strategic partnership will combine the Nifty Games team’s extensive experience in gaming with our group’s expertise in traditional sports, esports and entertainment.”

“We’re thrilled to invest in Nifty Games as they aim to capture the attention of traditional sports fans who have become disengaged and frustrated with the current state of sports simulations in video games,” said Gregory Milken, Managing Director, March Capital Partners. “We see the tremendous value in offering an engaging mobile gaming experience that features short session arcade play along with the sports that players love.”


The management team has delivered hugely successful AAA original IP and licensed properties to market, delivering over $1B in revenue. Management of Nifty Games include:

Jon Middleton – Founder & CEO:

Mr. Middleton, a gaming industry veteran of over 20 years, has held executive leadership roles in digital content (Madefire®) within game publishing (Pulse® Entertainment) and game hardware (Mad Catz Interactive®). He was formerly founder & CEO of Boom® In-Game Music, which was acquired by LiveGamer Inc® in 2008. Prior to that, he co-founded Massive In-Game Advertising which was acquired by Microsoft® in 2006. Before forming Massive, Middleton was CEO of Eight Cylinders Inc®., a game and broadband content authoring tools company acquired by On2.com® in 2000 and subsequently Google®.

Pete Wanat – Chief Product Officer:

Former VP of Production for Universal® Games division, Mr. Wanat helped deliver the 5th most downloaded game of all time Despicable Me™: Minion Rush™, and top ten grossing games surrounding major brand franchises such as Jurassic Park™. As a 20+ year video game industry veteran and creative leader integrating sports & entertainment IP’s into games throughout the evolution of console, PC and mobile F2P games, Mr. Wanat has worked on many of the most beloved sports video games of all time, including NBA JAM, Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball, NFL Quarterback Club and All-Star Baseball.


Nifty Games Management also includes:

Dan Wasson – Head of Production
With over 20 years in production and publishing, Mr. Wasson has held leadership roles at EA, Konami, LucasArts, Kabam, and Wargaming. He has shipped dozens of AAA and free-to-play games, with expertise managing internal and external development teams around the globe.

Jenny Lin – Head of Marketing
Ms. Lin has held senior marketing and brand management positions at major entertainment and gaming companies such as Electronic Arts, Disney / ABC Television Group, THQ and Jam City. Throughout her career she has launched console and mobile games for world-class brands including The Simpsons, Family Guy, Marvel, Disney / Pixar, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Kathy McElwee – Interim CFO
Ms. McElwee has worked in technology and games finance for over 20 years. Her past experience includes serving as CFO for 3DO, Telltale Games and Campo Santo.

Additional information is available at: www.nifty.games

Square Enix Collective - End of year summary!

Here at GCP we are big fans of the Square Enix Collective, you may have noticed how much we have covered their releases this year, they have helped bring some truly great Indy titles to the masses, and we thought we would take a look at what they have achieved this year.

"Square Enix Collective has been created to act as a service provider for indie developers, either through helping to build community, or with support for releasing games. Regardless of which services we work with you on, you will always retain your own IP, as well as creative control over your projects – and at each stage it’s up to you if you want to continue to work with us in the future."
https://collective.square-enix.com

Forgotton Anne
Launched: 
15 May 2018 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
9 November 2018 (Nintendo Switch)

‘​Forgotton Anne is a seamless cinematic adventure game with light puzzle platforming elements. Step into a hand-animated realm of wonder in which everyday objects take on a life of their own. Uncover the Forgotlings’ mysteries & harness magical forces as you embark upon a quest to return home.

Trailer:

Oh My Godheads
Launched: 25 September 2018 (Nintendo Switch)

Oh My Godheads is a fast and frenetic multiplayer fracas in which four players swing pointy swords, sling explosive pies and celebrate the death of their foes with exuberant aplomb. Choose from a wide variety of characters, before grabbing the Godhead and bringing it back to your base - while unleashes its wrath on you and those around you.

Trailer:

Boundless
Launched: 11 September 2018 (PC)

Boundless is a voxel sandbox MMO built on endless possibility. In a universe of connected worlds, seamless interplanetary travel is possible via mysterious portal technology. Travel seamlessly between diverse planets as you build, craft, trade and fight to form new civilization. Shape your citizen, forge your destiny and sculpt your world.

Trailer:

Octahedron
Launched: 20 March 2018 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)

Surf through a pulsating, underground world on platforms pulled from thin air in this challenging psychedelic action platformer that has you defying gravity to a pumping beat. Atmospheric soundtrack by Chipzel (Super Hexagon), and house & trance producers Andre Sobota and Monomirror.

Trailer:

Fear Effect Sedna
Launched: 6 March 2018 (PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch)

Thrilling action and stealth gameplay enhanced by the Fear system, an exciting story and ultra-stylish cutscenes. Harness your team’s dynamic abilities to tackle enemies and puzzles like never before.

Trailer:

Battalion 1944
Launched in Early Access: 1 February 2018 (PC)

Battalion recaptures the core of classic competitive shooters & refines the ‘classic’ FPS feel for the next generation. Focusing on 5v5 infantry combat, where precise flick shots with your Kar98, covering fire with your Thompson and fluid movement are key to clutching every round for your team.

Trailer:

Star Wars Battlefront II: Battle of Geonosis Official Trailer

The Clone Wars have begun. The hero Obi-Wan Kenobi and the map Geonosis arrive in the latest update – free for all Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II players and available from 28th November. Unlock the 212th Clone Trooper appearances and new General Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi appearances, plus drive the new STAP and BARC speeders, and dominate with the AT-TE.

Unboxing the PlayStation Classic

PlayStation Classic arrives on December 3, preloaded with 20 iconic titles from a game-changing era. Join us as we unbox this miniature recreation, which includes a console design mirroring the original PlayStation at 45% its size, two wired controllers, and a virtual memory card to save your adventures as you switch between titles.

Pre-Order from Amazon here

SNIPERS VS THIEVES CELEBRATES 25 MILLION PLAYERS WITH ITS BIGGEST UPDATE EVER

London, Thursday November 22, 2018 - Just over a year since its worldwide release across iOS and Android, the mobile sensation Snipers vs Thieves is deploying its biggest game-changing update ever, with more than 100 improvements and fan-requested additions.

The criminally-good update, which rolls out worldwide today, completely reinvents the game with new modes for hardcore players and rookies alike, as well as a stash of insanely fun new weapons, a payload of ingenious new gadgets, a gorgeous redesigned interface, and for the first-time ever, a single-player mode.

These additions come as developer FoxGlove Studios and publisher PlayStack celebrate the game’s most prestigious milestone so far: More than 25 million players have enjoyed Snipers vs. Thieves so far across iOS and Android.

“We are completely floored to see that in little more than twelve months since our global launch we have amassed more than 25 million players,” said Jan Lechner, Executive Producer at Foxglove Studios.

“This huge update is entirely for our fans, and for months we have been obsessed with making sure every player’s request has been listened to. It’s our way of saying thanks for making Snipers vs Thieves such a wonderful game to work on and such an incredible success story so far.”

Harvey Elliott, Chief Executive at PlayStack, added: “Snipers vs Thieves is immensely fun, easy to enjoy and incredibly popular with stellar ratings from our audience. We are sure that the 25 million players who have already enjoyed the game will love this huge update just as much as we do.“

A shortlist of the game’s biggest improvements and new additions follows:

NEW WAYS TO PLAY
Think you’re the best shot around? The new Sniper vs Sniper mode gives you a chance to prove your marksmanship prowess as you and another player pick apart packs of thieves, with the most successful shooter taking home the lion’s share of the reward.

Proving there really is no honor amongst thieves, a new Thief Race mode pits you against your crew. There’s only one seat in the getaway van, and the first to get there goes home with all the gold.
Got nerves of steel? A new Pro Thief mode offers the biggest, most eye-watering rewards ever. But there’s a catch: If a sniper takes down just one of your clan, you all lose.
For the first time ever, Snipers vs Thieves will include a single-player Horde Mode, where players take on the role of a sniper and take down wave upon wave of AI thieves that sneak, roll, and jump their way to the getaway van.

NEXT-GEN HARDWARE FOR SNIPERS
A devious arsenal of new toys are available to sniper players, ranging from disgustingly smart gadgets to brutally blunt add-ons. If you enjoy outsmarting your opponents, or love indulging in a spot of overkill, you’re going to love this:

Triggered Explosives: Launch mines onto the path of unsuspecting thieves and, when they’re close enough, light up the sky

Rail Gun: Act fast! You only have a handful of seconds to operate this remarkable feat of engineering, so make it count. Not only can the Rail Gun see through objects, it can shoot through them too. Thieves who never come out from hiding will be sitting ducks.

Air Strike: Add an element of unnecessary, dramatic overkill to the proceedings with the military Air Strike power. Select a zone and watch the chaos rain down from above.

Placeable Turrets: Let AI do all the work for you by affixing auto-aim turrets onto the enemy’s pathway. It’s a delightfully devilish way to drive thieves into your line of sight.

STUPEFYING POWER-UPS FOR THIEVES
Change the game when playing as a thief with this new eye-opening collection of tools and power-ups, guaranteed to deliver the biggest WTFs to your crime spree:

Vampire Run: Choose this potion wisely. Once you down it you can run at exhilarating speed, but your health drains away as each second passes.

Teleport: It’s the best kind of transportation you’ll find. Select this power-up to safely rematerialise at a nearby cover point of your choosing.

Dodge Gadget: Take this and become neo, dodging oncoming fire with godlike reflexes and sumptuous acrobatics.

Buddy Speed: Arm yourself with this power for ultimate shenanigans. Select a thief and freeze them for a few seconds before they break from the ice with an incredible speed boost. The question is, are you using this to help or hinder your crew?

Snipers vs Thieves is free-to-play on the Apple App Store and Google Play