Trion Raises $70 million to Make Games

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By: Ryan Ball

Trion World Network Inc. has become one of the most well-funded video game companies since its debut in 2006, pulling in more than $100 million to date. Dedicated to server-based games, the company announced that its latest round of Series C funding has yielded $70 million from world-class venture capital firms and leading global media companies.

The new round was co-led by a large global financial institution and Act II Capital. All previous investors also participated this time around, including first-round participants DCM and Trinity Ventures, and B-round investors Rustic Canyon, Time Warner, Bertelsmann and Peacock Equity, a joint venture between GE Commercial Finance’s media, communications and entertainment business and NBC Universal.

Trion co-founder and CEO Lars Buttler says the latest round of funding represents a continued vote of confidence in the company’s technology and approach to interactive entertainment.

“This signifies a shift away from static retail products and towards games as dynamic services, which will be simulated increasingly ‘in the cloud’,” Buttler coments. “With its industry-defining server-based games platform, worldwide publishing capabilities, an ever-growing network of AAA development studios, unrivaled partnerships in media and technology, and now significant capital in the bank, Trion is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the next cycle of electronic entertainment.”

Buttler, former VP for Global Online at Electronic Arts, founded Trion with fellow industry veteran Jon Van Caneghem, a member of the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame and creator of the best-selling Might and Magic and Heroes franchises. The company has offices in Redwood City, Calif., San Diego and Austin, TX.

Currently in development at Trion are a fantasy MMOG helmed by legendary Caneghem, and an MMOG co-developed in partnership with NBC Universal’s SCI FI Channel. Both titles will be published by Trion in North America and Europe.

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