The UK-based studio – Lockwood Publishing – behind social simulation game Avakin Life has recently secured £19 million Series A funding. The investment was led by Chinese tech giant Tencent, while existing investors Novator Partners, David Helgason and Hilmar Pétursson joined the round.
“Players globally are increasingly enjoying games for both the entertainment and the socially interactive experience,” said Tencent corporate vice president Bo Wang.
“We are delighted to partner with the talents of Lockwood and look forward to supporting their vision of delivering an engaging experience to users.”
We are *very* excited to announce that from today on Avakin Life, superstar DJ duo Lucas & Steve will be hosting a series of virtual concerts for our community to enjoy from November 6th to the 9th! #party @SpinninSessions @SpinninRecords pic.twitter.com/PkG56mX1Kk
— Lockwood (@LockwoodLKWD) November 4, 2020
Avakin Life has more than 200 million registered users on iOS and Android and more than a million who come back at least once a day. Launched in 2013, Avakin Life is like a 3D world where people can meet and express themselves socially in a safe virtual world.
Lockwood Publishing was founded in 2009 by Joel Kemp and Bjornsson, and orignally developed games for the PlayStation Home virtual world, which players inhabited on the PS3. The author often played chess in a virtual square, as other people’s avatars wandered around. One of Home’s hits was Sodium, an online game developed by Outso and published by Lockwood Publishing.