FunPlus
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Company type | Private |
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Founded | 2010 |
Headquarters | Switzerland |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
Products |
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Number of employees | 2,000+[1] (2019) |
Website | www |
FunPlus is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Switzerland, with operations in China, Singapore and Spain.[2] The company has developed the following mobile games: State of Survival, King of Avalon, Guns of Glory, and Call of Antia.[3]
The company's CEO is Andy Zhong[4] and its CTO is Yitao Guan.[5][6]
History
FunPlus was founded in 2010 by Andy Zhong and Yitao Guan in Silicon Valley as Halfquest, focusing on web game development in Silicon Valley and Beijing.[7] In Beijing, the company created DianDian Interactive game studio, which became the casual games division of the company.[8] In October 2010, the company launched its first web game, Family Farm, on German social network VZ.[9] In June 2011, the game appeared on Facebook.
In 2012, the company was relocated to Beijing and rebranded as FunPlus in 2012.[10] In the same year, FunPlus launched it first mobile game, Family Farm Seaside, as well as a second web game, Royal Story.[11]
A third web game, Happy Acres, launched in 2014.[12]
In the same year, the company established a mobile strategy game studio, KingsGroup, in Beijing.
KingsGroup launched its first mobile strategy game, King of Avalon, in 2016.[13] In the same year, FunPlus sold its DianDian Interactive studio to the Century Group, a listed company on the Shenzhen stock exchange, for $1 billion, after which the game studio was renamed Century Game. After the sale of DianDian studio, FunPlus focused on investing in other game studios globally as well as developing strategy games, e-sports, live-streaming and game publishing platforms.[14]
In 2017, KingsGroup launched its second mobile strategy game, Guns of Glory.[15] In 2018, FunPlus started to grow its international studio presence with a new casual studio in Beijing called Puzala, as well as two new mobile development studios in Moscow and Shanghai.[16]
In 2019, KingsGroup launched and self-published mobile strategy game State of Survival. The game has since achieved more than 100 million downloads.[17] FunPlus continued its international growth with new studios in Stockholm and Tokyo, and a publishing office in Barcelona.[18][19]
In 2020, the company's Guangzhou studio was opened. In December 2020, FunPlus opened its corporate global headquarters in Switzerland.[20]
In 2021, FunPlus collaborated with AMC to introduce The Walking Dead to State of Survival.[21]
In April 2021, Imagendary Studios was acquired by FunPlus.[22]
In December 2021, the company collaborated with DC to introduce the Joker to State of Survival.[citation needed]
In January 2022, FunPlus launched the match-3 RPG Call of Antia.[23]
In March 2022, FunPlus announced a partnership with Orlando Bloom to bring his character to mobile strategy title, King of Avalon.[24]
Games
State of Survival
State Of Survival is a multiplayer mobile strategy game, set in a post-apocalyptic world. Players join the game as survivors whose goal is to develop and protect their settlement, rescue other survivors, train their troops, and better understand the disease ravaging the world. By recruiting heroes and forging alliances, players battle zombies and other survivors to rebuild civilization.[25] In 2020, the game won Best Simulation Game at Samsung’s Best of Galaxy Store Awards 2020.[26]
King of Avalon
King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare is a medieval-themed fantasy strategy game taking action in the Arthurian era, released in 2016. It is similar in both theme and gameplay to Game of War: Fire Age. By mid-April 2019, total revenue value rose to over $721 million, close to doubling within just eight months.[27][28][29]
Guns of Glory
Guns of Glory is a renaissance/steampunk-themed strategy game similar to King of Avalon, released in September 2017. By April 2019, the total revenue was over $510 million.[30] Synopsis: the player is a prisoner, deep in the bowels of the Bastille prison. Hidden from the world behind a locked Iron Mask. The player must escape and survive with the help of an army, built by the player.[31]
Call of Antia
Call of Antia is a match-3 RPG game, released in January 2022. Players build their own shire to save their world. They also have to recruit over 50 heroes to defeat the Dark Legion.[32]
Other games
Z Day: Hearts of Heroes, a post-apocalyptic strategy game, based on King of Avalon.[33]
Esports
FunPlus has an esports division named FunPlus Esports that sponsors several esports teams and leagues around the world. In 2017, FunPlus Esports founded FunPlus Phoenix, a professional esports organization[34] with a League of Legends team competing in China's top league (the LPL), and operates the Pacific Championship Series. During its run from mid-2018 to 2019, the League of Legends SEA Tour was operated by FunPlus Esports.[35]
In 2018 FunPlus Esports, in partnership with Chinese online game developer NetEase, launched the world's first global battle royale pro league, "Rules of Survival Global Series".[36]
In 2019, FunPlus Phoenix won the League Of Legends World Championship in a 3-0 victory over G2 Esports.[37]
In August 2021, FunPlus Phoenix’s mid laner Doinb earned the League of Legends Pro League Most Valuable Player award for the 2021 summer split.[38]
In 2022, FunPlus Phoenix Wins the Chinese Wild Rift League.[39]
Ventures
In 2012, FunPlus received funding in the amount of $13 million in the Series A round from several Silicon Valley investors. In the Series B the company’s total funding raised was $87 million. Among other ventures, the investment went to the development of the DianDian Interactive game studio.[40]
In 2014, FunPlus raised $74 million in a series B funding round led by Orchid Asia Group, GSR Ventures, and Steamboat Ventures.[41]
Since 2014, the company has invested in other game studios and game-related projects globally.
In 2016, the company started a $50 million fund to invest in game startups.[42] The first investment that FunPlus made was in Sirvo Studios.[43][44]
In July 2016, FunPlus invested an undisclosed amount to Singaporean mobile game developer XII Braves.[45]
In June 2021, FunPlus became one of the investors in seed funding for Drop Fake, which raised $9 million.[46] In July 2021, FunPlus led a series B financing round for Singularity 6. The studio has raised $30 million.[47] In the same year, FunPlus participated in the seed funding round for Gardens Studio, in which it raised $4.5 million.[48]
In 2022, FunPlus invested in Conchship Games with a 25% stake.[49]
References
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- ^ "Yitao Guan - Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer Funplus". execlibrary.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ Sherr, Ian (19 August 2014). "FunPlus strikes nearly $1B deal to sell a game subsidiary to a Chinese company". CNET. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ "China's FunPlus raises a huge round of $74M to build a global gaming company". VentureBeat. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "FunPlus Group Sells Wholly-Owned Gaming Subsidiary". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ Davison, Pete (6 April 2012). "Family Farm claims to be 'a better Farmville' -- but is it?". Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Andy Zhong—CEO of Billion-Dollar Gaming Company FunPlus | MIU Giving |". Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Gaming Company FunPlus Lands $74M Series B | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Diandian Interactive Sold By Parent For USD960 Million". ChinaTechNews.com. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "FunPlus Introduces Orlando Bloom As a New Hero in Strategy Mobile Game 'King of Avalon'". Capsule Computers. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Andy Zhong—CEO of Billion-Dollar Gaming Company FunPlus | MIU Giving |". Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Guns of Glory celebrates 4th anniversary featuring Pirate carnival event". GamingonPhone. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "FunPlus Partners with TV Series 'Day of the Dead' to Bring New Content to State of Survival". Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
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- ^ "Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Best of Galaxy Store Awards". Samsung Developers. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "King of Avalon - Bom tấn chiến thuật thời gian thực 'rực lửa' Mobile". gamek.vn (in Vietnamese). 14 July 2016. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
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