Video Game Company Gets Funds From Six Firms

A Calabasas-based software company for the video game industry received $12 million in funding from six firms. Emergent Game Technologies also announced changes in its executive team to better guide the company through a period of rapid growth. The new round of funding and the organizational changes allows the company to deliver the most progressive development solutions available to the games industry, said Emergent CEO Geoffrey Selzer. “The games market is evolving quickly, with cross-platform production scalability and online migration becoming ever-increasing challenges to game creators,” Selzer said. “Aided by our world class customer service and support Emergent is evolving to successfully solve these increasingly larger problems for developers and publishers.” The $12 million funding comes from Jerusalem Venture Partners, Worldview Technology Partners, Adena Ventures, Walker Venture, Copan and Cisco Systems. “Emergent delivers what game developers and publishers need most: scalable, modular development solutions that allow them to minimize their financial risk while unleashing their creativity to make great games.” The organizational changes include consolidating the company’s research and development staff into a single location in North Carolina. The move involves closing a facility in Walnut Creek, Calif. The promotions and personnel changes include naming Scott Johnson as president after previously serving as executive vice president; John Goodale as vice president of marketing and business development; Lisa Wenninger as vice president of product management; and David Gregory as vice president of engineering and systems architect. Emergent’s products have been used to create games from Bethesda Softworks, Disney Interactive Studios, EX-Mythic, and Firaxis Games Both Israel-based Jerusalem Venture and Worldview Technologies invest in media, software, telecommunications and semiconductor companies. Adena, with offices in Ohio and West Virginia, puts its money into high-growth software, gaming, e-retailing and health care companies. Emergent has a global presence, with a sales office in London. The company is the dominant provider of games middleware in Korea and has a significant client base in China, where some the country’s largest games publisher and developers use Emergent technology. Explosive sales growth of more than 100 percent over the past year, with incorporation of its technology into over 200 gaming titles, and broad industry recognition of its leading game development solutions led Emergent to close the Series D funding round. Titles using Emergent technology include Dark Age of Camelot series, the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Sid Meier’s Pirates! and Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich.