Juicy Button Games, a new independent games studio based in Cyprus, has announced the successful completion of a $3 million seed round led by The Games Fund. This specialist early-stage VC fund, with offices in Cyprus and New York, focuses on investing in outstanding video game developers and GameTech companies.
Innovative Mobile-First 4x Strategy Game
The investment will fuel Juicy Button Games’ development of an innovative mobile-first 4x strategy game from its headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus. The 4x genre, typically dominated by studios from China, will now see a worthy European challenger. Juicy Button Games has assembled a founding superteam responsible for mobile titles grossing over $700 million.
Each co-founder brings a unique skill set to Juicy Button Games, creating the perfect blend of top-tier 4x mechanics, slick user experience, and data-backed creative marketing. The founders include:
- Alexander Kravchuk: A mobile gaming veteran with over 20 years of experience and the creator of Total Battle, a leading MMO strategy title with $222 million in lifetime revenue and 43 million unique players.
- Anton Sinelnikov: Co-founder and game design director of Cubic Games, known for Pixel Gun 3D, which has grossed over $220 million on mobile and achieved 190 million downloads. Sinelnikov is also participating in the seed round as an angel investor.
- Aleksandr Zaytsev: Co-founder of Panoramik Games, a studio specializing in mobile midcore fantasy games including Mighty Party. Panoramik Games’ titles have achieved more than 70 million downloads, with lifetime revenue of almost $180 million.
Alexander Kravchuk stated, “To launch Juicy Button Games, we brought together all four key elements: leading marketing expertise, cutting-edge tech, massive game design knowledge, and smart capital.” He added, “We’re set to launch and scale top-quality, deep, and juicy games that players will enjoy for years.”
Ilya Karpinskiy, co-founder and General Partner at The Games Fund, expressed his enthusiasm: “At The Games Fund we are big believers in the mobile games market. Alexander, Anton, and Aleksandr are AAA founders and gurus in their domains with proven track records and top-grossing games under their belts.”
The Games Fund has raised $50 million to invest in gaming companies and founders from emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe. Their portfolio includes ROAR Games, Obelisk Studio, Made on Earth Games, KEK Entertainment, and Jarvi Games.
