Japanese game publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment, known for entries like Elden Ring, Dark Souls trilogy and Pac-Man, has invested in Pune-based developer SuperGaming. The company has used its ‘Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Fund’ to invest in startups and build out its “IP Metaverse”, by investing in Indian studios and US-based Deepmotion. The fund was launched in April last year in anticipation of Web3 and other developments in the metaverse. The deal size is not mentioned in the press release, but the fund’s investment sizes range from ¥10 million (roughly Rs. 62 lakhs) to ¥500 million (roughly Rs. 31 crores).
“Working on Pac-Man was a bucket list item that I have been privileged to accomplish,” Robbie John, co-founder and CEO of Supergaming, said in a prepared statement. “Having a customer become an investor is the greatest validation we could ever ask for at Supergaming, so it’s an immense honor that Bandai Namco has invested in us and involved us in our journey of making games for people over the years Is.” While Supergaming is best known for its mobile game portfolio, which includes social deduction title Silly Royale and multiplayer FPS MaskedGun, they also have a cloud-based game development engine called Superplatform. The technology was announced last year in collaboration with Google Cloud, allowing game developers to use an engine based on SaaS (Software as a Service) to build games from scratch – assets and all – In addition to managing analytics, tracking player data, monetization, and integrating with games built on Unity, Unreal Engine, PlayCanvas, and Cocos Creator.
“Through this investment, we aim to expand our business by combining our expertise in IP with a deep understanding of the Asian market, which is expected to grow further in the future,” said Bandai Namco Entertainment (BNE) in a statement. ” As mentioned earlier, the Japanese gaming giant has also invested in DeepMotion, which is known for solutions aimed at bringing digital characters to life through AI-powered motion capture and real-time body tracking. BNE intends to create new “entertainment experiences” with this technology.
Meanwhile, SuperGaming is hard at work on its upcoming Indo-futuristic battle-royale title Indus, which is set on a floating island. In it, you play as a Mythwalker, a hired gun working for Coven, on a quest to hunt down the rare mineral Cosmium, which can alter space and time. Like other titles in the genre, players are dropped into maps to scavenge for supplies, survive, and kill anyone who stands in their way to victory. However, at certain intervals during the game, the Cosmium will appear at a random point which, when claimed, grants the holder a straight win. The studio previously added Olympic pistol shooter Heena Sidhu as a playable character in Indus, pre-registrations for which are now live on the Google Play Store.
