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FunPlus

FunPlus is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Switzerland, with operations in China, Singapore and Spain.[2] The company has developed the following mobile games: State of Survival, Frost & Flame: King of Avalon, Guns of Glory: Lost Island, Stormshot: Isle of Adventure and Sea of Conquest: Pirate War.[3]

FunPlus
Company typePrivate
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)
Headquarters
Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Andy Zhong (CEO)
  • Chris Petrovic (CBO)
Products
  • State of Survival
  • King of Avalon
  • Guns of Glory
  • Stormshot
  • Sea of Conquest
  • Call of Antia
  • Z Day
  • Family Farm
  • Family Farm Seaside
  • Royal Story
  • Happy Acres
Number of employees
2,000+[1] (2019)
Websitewww.funplus.com

The company's CEO is Andy Zhong.[4]

History

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FunPlus was founded in 2010 by Andy Zhong and Yitao Guan in Silicon Valley as Halfquest, focusing on web game development in Silicon Valley and Beijing.[5] In Beijing, the company created DianDian Interactive game studio, which became the casual games division of the company.[6] In October 2010, the company launched its first web game, Family Farm, on German social network VZ.[7] In June 2011, the game appeared on Facebook.

In 2012, the company was relocated to Beijing and rebranded as FunPlus in 2012.[8] In the same year, FunPlus launched it first mobile game, Family Farm Seaside, as well as a second web game, Royal Story.[9]

A third web game, Happy Acres, launched in 2014.[10] In the same year, the company established a mobile strategy game studio, KingsGroup, in Beijing.

KingsGroup launched its first mobile strategy game, King of Avalon, in 2016.[11] In the same year, FunPlus sold its DianDian Interactive studio to the Century Group, a listed company on the Shenzhen stock exchange, for $1 billion, after which the game studio was renamed Century Game. After the sale of DianDian studio, FunPlus focused on investing in other game studios globally as well as developing strategy games, e-sports, live-streaming and game publishing platforms.[12][13]

In 2017, KingsGroup launched its second mobile strategy game, Guns of Glory.[14] In 2018, FunPlus started to grow its international studio presence with a new casual studio in Beijing called Puzala, as well as a new mobile development studios in Shanghai.[15]

In 2019, KingsGroup launched and self-published mobile strategy game State of Survival. The game has since achieved more than 100 million downloads.[16] FunPlus continued its international growth with new studios and a publishing office in Barcelona.[17][18]

In 2020, the company's Guangzhou studio was opened. In December 2020, FunPlus opened its corporate global headquarters in Switzerland.[19]

In 2021, FunPlus collaborated with AMC to introduce The Walking Dead to State of Survival.[20]

In April 2021, Imagendary Studios was acquired by FunPlus.[21] In December 2021, the company collaborated with DC to introduce the Joker to State of Survival.[22]

In January 2022, FunPlus launched the match-3 RPG Call of Antia.[23] In March 2022, FunPlus announced a partnership with Orlando Bloom to bring his character to mobile strategy title, King of Avalon.[24]

In January 2023, FunPlus expanded its publishing operations in Barcelona to game development, focused on hybrid-casual games .[25] In July 2023, FunPlus announced DC: Dark Legion a new strategy video game set in DC universe currently in development. [26] In August 2023, Imagendary Studios was "deeply restructured" and laid off a majority of its employees. Studio head Ryan Pollreisz and other lead staff members left the company in the weeks prior.[27] In October 2023, FunPlus announced a partnership with Capcom to bring Resident Evil characters to mobile strategy title, State of Survival. [28]

In January 2024, FunPlus launched the strategy game Sea of Conquest: Pirate War, giving players a triple-A gameplay experience on mobile.[29]

Esports

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FunPlus has an esports division named FunPlus Esports that sponsors several esports teams and leagues around the world. In 2017, FunPlus Esports founded FunPlus Phoenix, a professional esports organization[30] with a League of Legends team competing in China's top league (the LPL), and operates the Pacific Championship Series. During its run from mid-2018 to 2019, the League of Legends SEA Tour was operated by FunPlus Esports.[31]

In 2018 FunPlus Esports, in partnership with Chinese online game developer NetEase, launched the world's first global battle royale pro league, "Rules of Survival Global Series".[32]

In 2019, FunPlus Phoenix won the League Of Legends World Championship in a 3-0 victory over G2 Esports.[33]

In August 2021, FunPlus Phoenix’s mid laner Doinb earned the League of Legends Pro League Most Valuable Player award for the 2021 summer split.[34]

In 2022, FunPlus Phoenix Wins the Chinese Wild Rift League.[35]

Ventures

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In 2012, FunPlus received funding in the amount of $13 million in the Series A round from several Silicon Valley investors. In the Series B the company’s total funding raised was $87 million. Among other ventures, the investment went to the development of the DianDian Interactive game studio.[36]

In 2014, FunPlus raised $74 million in a series B funding round led by Orchid Asia Group, GSR Ventures, and Steamboat Ventures.[37]

Since 2014, the company has invested in other game studios and game-related projects globally.

In 2016, the company started a $50 million fund to invest in game startups.[38] The first investment that FunPlus made was in Sirvo Studios.[39][40]

In July 2016, FunPlus invested an undisclosed amount to Singaporean mobile game developer XII Braves.[41]

In June 2021, FunPlus became one of the investors in seed funding for Drop Fake, which raised $9 million.[42] In July 2021, FunPlus led a series B financing round for Singularity 6. The studio has raised $30 million.[43] In the same year, FunPlus participated in the seed funding round for Gardens Studio, in which it raised $4.5 million.[44]

In 2022, FunPlus invested in Conchship Games with a 25% stake.[45]

References

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  1. ^ Agnew, Callum (6 September 2019). "2 FunPlus appoints former NetEase director Michael Tong as chief strategy officer". PocketGamer. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  2. ^ "FunPlus". Greater Zurich Area. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  3. ^ "FunPlus". Greater Zurich Area. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Andy Zhong—CEO of Billion-Dollar Gaming Company FunPlus". Retrieved 12 January 2022.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "China's FunPlus raises a huge round of $74M to build a global gaming company". VentureBeat. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  6. ^ "FunPlus Group Sells Wholly-Owned Gaming Subsidiary". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  7. ^ Davison, Pete (6 April 2012). "Family Farm claims to be 'a better Farmville' -- but is it?". Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Andy Zhong—CEO of Billion-Dollar Gaming Company FunPlus | MIU Giving |". Retrieved 19 July 2022.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Gaming Company FunPlus Lands $74M Series B | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Diandian Interactive Sold By Parent For USD960 Million". ChinaTechNews.com. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  11. ^ "FunPlus Introduces Orlando Bloom As a New Hero in Strategy Mobile Game 'King of Avalon'". Capsule Computers. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Andy Zhong—CEO of Billion-Dollar Gaming Company FunPlus | MIU Giving |". Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ Takahashi, Dean (19 August 2014). "FunPlus Group sells its game subsidiary to Chinese holding company for $960M". VentureBeat. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Guns of Glory celebrates 4th anniversary featuring Pirate carnival event". GamingonPhone. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  15. ^ "FunPlus Partners with TV Series 'Day of the Dead' to Bring New Content to State of Survival". Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  16. ^ "State of Survival passes 100 million downloads". pocketgamer.biz. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  17. ^ "After success at home, game companies set their sights overseas". SHINE. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  18. ^ "FunPlus Publishing Office in Barcelona, Spain Announces Plans for Growth and Talent Acquisition". finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  19. ^ "FunPlus Appoints Josh Burns as Sr Director, Business Development for the North American Market". finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  20. ^ Partleton, Kayleigh. "FunPlus teams with AMC to bring The Walking Dead to State of Survival". pocketgamer.biz. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Imagendary Studio Has a New Studio Manager". Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  22. ^ Botadkar, Tanish (26 November 2021). "State of Survival adds The Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker to the game as a playable character". www.pocketgamer.com. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  23. ^ Dellosa, Catherine. "Call of Antia is FunPlus' new match-3 RPG that's out now on iOS and Android". www.pocketgamer.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  24. ^ Astle, Aaron. "Orlando Bloom joins King of Avalon as a limited-time playable character". pocketgamer.biz. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  25. ^ Rees, Lewis (14 February 2023). "FunPlus Barcelona studio to focus on hybrid-casual games". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  26. ^ Makuch, Eddie (13 July 2023). "New DC Strategy Game Announced, Coming Next Year". gamespot.com. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  27. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (28 August 2023). "Imagendary Studios reportedly lays off majority of staff". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  28. ^ Irorita, Franz Christian (28 October 2023). "Resident Evil characters join State of Survival for Halloween Event". clutchpoints.com. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  29. ^ Dellosa, Catherine. "Sea of Conquest finally launches globally, giving players a triple-A gameplay experience on mobile". www.pocketgamer.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  30. ^ "Game Developer FunPlus Begins to Focus on Chinese Market". Pandaily. 25 October 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  31. ^ Hayward, Andrew (11 March 2019). "FunPlus Named League of Legends South East Asia Tour Operator". The Esports Observer. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  32. ^ "FunEase's "Rules of Survival Global Series" (RGS) Esports League to Broadcast Exclusively on Facebook". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  33. ^ Stubbs, Mike. "FunPlus Phoenix Win The 'League Of Legends' World Championship In A 3-0 Stomp". Forbes. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  34. ^ "FunPlus Phoenix's Doinb earns LPL MVP — to no one's surprise". Upcomer. 11 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  35. ^ Rossel, John Dave. "FunPlus Phoenix Wins the Chinese Wild Rift League 2022: National Qualifiers". AFK Gaming. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  36. ^ Dorbian, Iris (18 March 2014). "FunPlus rakes in $74 mln". Venture Capital Journal. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  37. ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  38. ^ "FunPlus announces $50m fund to "invest in the future of indie gaming"". GamesIndustry.biz. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  39. ^ "After the gold rush, FunPlus is starting a $50M game investment fund". VentureBeat. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  40. ^ "Stradling". Stradling - Sirvo Studios Completes Hybrid Strategic Equity Investment and Publishing Agreement With FunPlus Ventures. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  41. ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  42. ^ "Drop Fake raises $9m in seed funding". GamesIndustry.biz. July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  43. ^ "Singularity 6 raises $30m to fund debut MMO game". GamesIndustry.biz. July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  44. ^ "Gardens looking to cultivate healthy spaces for work and play". GamesIndustry.biz. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  45. ^ "FunPlus Invested in The Scroll of Taiwu's Developer with a 25% Stake -- Superpixel". www.superpixel.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
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