A Bit Lucky

A Bit Lucky, Inc. was a social and multiplatform game development studio established in 2009 by co-founders Frederic Descamps and Jordan Maynard. The company operated in the online social gaming market, focusing on creating high-quality, multiplayer experiences. Their business model centered on the free-to-play approach, common in social gaming, where revenue is generated through in-game purchases of virtual goods and currency.

The founding team consisted of video game industry veterans. CEO Frederic Descamps brought over two decades of experience in the gaming and tech sectors, with previous roles at companies like Trion Worlds and Xfire. Co-founder Jordan Maynard had a deep-rooted connection to the gaming industry, as his father was an early employee at Electronic Arts, and he had spent over a decade working on games with high user engagement. Their combined experience shaped the studio's strategy to merge traditional video game depth with social game mechanics.

A Bit Lucky's first title, "Lucky Train," launched on Facebook in June 2010. The game allowed players to build a train station and county, sending virtual trains to friends to transport passengers, which in turn generated coins and experience points. This model encouraged social interaction, as adding friends to train routes and upgrading trains was mutually beneficial for all players involved. "Lucky Train" achieved significant traction, attracting over 1.5 million users by October 2010. Following this, the studio released "Lucky Space" in 2011, a strategy game with a science fiction theme that tasked players with building an extraterrestrial colony, mining resources, and completing missions. The company's goal with these titles was to attract more 'hardcore' gamers to the Facebook platform.

The studio's potential attracted a notable list of investors, including Nexon, Accel Partners' Seed Fund, Rembrandt Venture Partners, and Blumberg Capital, raising $5 million in a Series A financing from Nexon in 2011. This robust financial backing culminated in the company's acquisition by social gaming giant Zynga in September 2012. At the time of the acquisition, the 20-person team was working on a new title, "Solstice Arena," a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. The entire team was integrated into Zynga's San Francisco offices to continue the development of "Solstice Arena" post-acquisition.

Keywords: A Bit Lucky, Frederic Descamps, Jordan Maynard, Zynga acquisition, social gaming, Facebook games, Lucky Train, Lucky Space, Solstice Arena, multiplayer online games, free-to-play, video game developer, Nexon, Accel Partners, mid-core games, transplatform gaming, social game mechanics, virtual goods, in-game purchases