Venture Capital News: Super League Gaming Closes Series B Round
2015-09-01
SANTA MONICA, CA, Super League Gaming, a leading firm that is transforming movie theaters into interactive, multiplayer gaming arenas, today announced the close of its Series B Round.
The round included investments from leading theater chain Cinemark Theatres, a SoftBank affiliated fund, and multiple institutions in Hong Kong and Singapore. The new investors join Quadrant Management, a New York based private equity group with global operations, as shareholders in Super League. The Series B proceeds will be utilized to launch participatory theater gaming in new markets domestically this year, and expand the portfolio of popular PC and mobile games to be played in theaters around the world in 2016.
Working in partnership with the nation's three largest theater chains -- Cinemark Theatres, Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Theatres, as well as luxury chain iPic Theaters -- Super League allows gamers of all ages to gather in their local movie theaters and compete on the big screen, while taking part in an entirely new and social entertainment experience.
'Our theaters are an entertainment destination, a place for people to interact and share an experience,' stated Sean Gamble, Cinemark CFO. 'Super League brings a whole new energy to our theaters and our investment in the company reflects our enthusiasm and belief that these types of events are additive to our core theatrical business.'
Following a successful summer preseason tour across 25 major cities and active engagement with over 10,000 gamers, Super League will launch its first official Fall League session on Oct. 6 with the immensely popular game Minecraft. The fall session will further expand Super League into over 70 active U.S. theater gaming arenas. Super League plans to add multiple other mainstream game titles in the coming months.
'Our technology reimagines the theater space for recreational eSports,' said Super League Co-Founder and Chief Visionary Officer John Miller. 'We saw our own kids playing video games and we thought there has to be a more social, communal way to do this. People don't want to be playing alone in their homes. They want to be playing together, working side by side with their teammates to compete against other teams. We knew movie theaters were a natural fit, but even we were surprised by the tremendous response to the summer preseason tour.'
Gamers bring their laptops or mobile devices to the theater and play in the traditional first-person view on their devices, while Super League's technology merges all players into a single aerial view projected onto the movie screen where people can catch all the action. During each six-week league session, gamers compete on teams to climb a national leaderboard and vie for the first place prize.
'We spotted this megatrend of eSports that had no social outlet for the masses, and the local theater is the natural playing field,' remarked Super League CEO, Ann Hand. 'It's truly immersive and fun. You step inside and suddenly you're in the Super League world, and now it is you and your teammates on the big screen.'
To learn more about Super League Gaming and details about the Fall League schedule, visit: www.SuperLeague.com.
About Super League Gaming, Inc.
Founded in 2014, Super League Gaming is the world's first recreational league that brings gamers together for an immersive, collaborative gameplay experience in theaters throughout the country and eventually worldwide. Based in Santa Monica, Calif., Super League Gaming allows players to compete as they socialize in a face-to-face environment while playing a variety of popular games. With the rally cry to 'leave no gamer behind,' Super League is rapidly expanding their market reach and gaming library to attract all gamers who enjoy competition and camaraderie. For more information, go to www.superleague.com
About Cinemark Holdings, Inc.
Cinemark is a leading domestic and international motion picture exhibitor, operating 503 theaters with 5,720 screens in 41 U.S. states, Brazil, Argentina, and 12 other Latin American countries as of June 30, 2015. For more information, go to www.investors.cinemark.com
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