Games Booth

PlayJam secures $5 million 'Series A' funding.

Investments From Adobe, GameStop and Endeavour Further Expand PlayJam's Social TV Games Platform.
 
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PlayJam, the world's leading TV games platform, has closed a $5 million 'Series A' financing round with backing from GameStop Digital Ventures, Adobe Ventures, Endeavour Ventures, London Venture Partners and a number of game industry luminaries.

PlayJam operates a global TV games platform that is distributed via leading connected TV brands including Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony, who combined, dominate the sector with more than 50 percent market share. Consumers access PlayJam at the touch of a button on their remote control, gaining instant access to a complete casual and social games experience. The investment will be used to fund further growth into Asian and US markets whilst the connected TV sector continues to experience significant global expansion.

2011 has seen the proliferation of connected TV, with recent studies forecasting an installed base of more than one billion devices by the end of 2015. Connected TV connection rates of 75 percent have been achieved in key markets by the leading manufacturers, demonstrating mass-market consumer demand for internet-connected services on television. Games have quickly become a key content driver, accounting for 38 percent of all app downloads, the largest share of any genre. This places PlayJam at the heart of an industry where games rival both music and movies in the digital home.

PlayJam has extensive experience of monetizing games on TV, having generated over 6 billion downloads in the last five years on Pay TV platforms. More than 50 percent of PlayJammers go on to pay for content and stay engaged for an average of 23 minutes per session. Unique repeat games purchases per month run at 4.8. Early indications show similar monetization rates alongside additional revenue opportunities for gameplay on connected TV platforms.

Working with Adobe®, PlayJam will aggregate Adobe® Flash® based 2D and 3D games for TVs from a wide range of game developers for distribution via its global games network. The company has recently announced content partnerships with renowned brands such as Slingo, Puzzler and Relentless, the company behind the hugely successful Buzz™ franchise.

PlayJam's open architecture platform provides game developers with an advanced tool-set to enhance, promote, monetize and distribute content via connected TV. Features such as billing, leader-boards, tournaments and integration with third party social networks and TV programming can be seamlessly integrated via PlayJam's SDK, scheduled for launch in Q2 2012.

Adobe, one of the world's largest software companies and a key innovator in the connected TV space, provides industry-leading tools to deliver entertainment apps including rich games and premium video across more than 100 digital home devices certified for Adobe Flash and AIR®.

"There is a growing market for delivering rich casual and social games to connected TVs and further the virtual console concept on the largest screens in the home,"said Emmy Huang, group product manager, Gaming at Adobe. "We are delighted to support PlayJam as they pioneer new Flash-based gaming experiences across TVs using AIR."

The world's largest multichannel video game retailer, GameStop is focused on next generation platforms for the delivery of premium games. "The investment in PlayJam is an important step to understanding the potential of the connected TV sector," said Chris Petrovic, Managing Director of GameStop Digital Ventures. "PlayJam has gained an early lead in the development, distribution and monetization of games on TV and we look forward to working closely with them to develop the opportunity further."