Lionsgate has brought together investing firms March Capital Partners and Ridge Ventures for an $11 million investment in game developer nWay that will fund future development of the mobile game Power Rangers: Legacy Wars.
Lionsgate president of interactive ventures and games, Peter Levin, will join nWay's board of directors alongside Ridge Ventures' managing director Phil Sanderson and March Capital Partners' co-founder Gregory Milken.
"Making fun mobile games with seamless synchronous multiplayer is extraordinarily difficult, but with Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, nWay has emerged as a true industry leader," said Levin. "We've helped nWay to assemble a veteran team of investors to enable them to continue pushing the boundaries of this field while showcasing world-class entertainment IP."
NWay developed Legacy Wars in collaboration with Power Rangers creator Saban Brands and Lionsgate. The game is a competitive and cooperative multiplayer action RPG for mobile based on the popular Saban franchise that began in the early 1990s. Since its launch in March, Legacy Wars has had over 26 million downloads.
"As Power Rangers: Legacy Wars celebrates more than 26.5 million downloads across iOS and Android, we continue to gain invaluable knowledge on servicing and monetizing free-to-play synchronous multiplayer games, and are already benefiting from the experience and guidance of the partners joining us today," said nWay CEO Taehoon Kim. "Bringing together a strong engineering team, commitment to high quality graphics and design, and unique expertise to this type of mobile gaming, nWay embodies all the key strengths we look for in a portfolio company," said March Capital Partners’ Gregory Milken. "As audiences look for more engaging competitive gaming experiences, we believe nWay is positioned to further define itself as one of the leading developers in this space."
The new deal further expands the relationship between Lionsgate and Ridge Ventures, one that includes investments in other game developers that work closely with Hollywood properties, such as Telltale Games and Next Games, both of which include Levin and Sanderson as board members. Both Telltale and Next have games based off the popular comic book/TV series The Walking Dead, while Telltale also has Batman titles and Game of Thrones games. In the competitive gaming sphere, Lionsgate has also previously invested alongside Milken in the professional e-sports organization Immortals.
