In October Drifter Entertainment announced itself to the world. Focused on eSports virtual reality (VR) development, the studio was formed by Ray Davis, Kenneth Scott, and Brian Murphy, veterans who have developed platforms like HoloLens, Oculus Rift, Xbox One, and Unreal Engine 4. Now Drifter Entertainment has raised $2.25 million USD in a seed funding round.
Led by VC firm, Signia Venture Partners, the company has previously invested in Alibaba, Boxed, Playdom, Adify, and Flycast Communications. While another major investment came from Initialized Capital. “We’re looking for foundational companies and this is our first VR bet, because this is the first time we saw something in the space that really felt like it could be a major level up in gaming,” said Initialized Capital General Partner and co-founder, Alexis Ohanian (also cofounded Reddit). Presence Capital, The VR Fund, Pathbreaker Ventures, and Anorak Ventures have also invested funds in the new studio.
“We’re thrilled and humbled by the support we’ve received from our investors, both financial and otherwise,” said Drifter’s Ray Davis. “We feel incredibly lucky to have found the right partners that not only want us to succeed, but clearly understand our vision for the future of VR gaming.”
Signia partner, Sunny Dhillon, will be joining Drifter’s board as a result of the investment. “You rarely come across a founder like Ray with the technical and creative chops found in very few gaming company founders. We’re excited to build market defining virtual reality games with Team Drifter,” commented Dhillon.
While Drifter Entertainment has previously stated plans for a VR eSports title, currently it’s staying quiet on what the project/s actually are. Murphy recently said in a statement: “The titles we’re working on are ambitious experiences designed for a new medium, and knowing that we’ll have the capital to see them through is certainly empowering.”
When Drifter Entertainment unveils plans for its first VR videogame, VRFocus will bring you the latest details.