Blade Games World
closedJumala, a free gaming destination that enables individuals to develop games without having programming skills.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
$500k | Debt | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Blade Games World emerges as an integrated solution provider in the video game development sector, established in February 2009 through the strategic merger of game tool developer Digini and Chinese game content outsourcer Vyk Games. The company was initially led by CEO Tony Garcia, formerly of Digini, and President Tom Sperry, the previous CEO of Vyk Games, with a team drawing management experience from industry heavyweights like Electronic Arts, Microsoft Game Studios, and Lucas Arts. In its early phase, Blade Games World secured $4 million in an initial investment round led by California Technology Ventures in March 2009.
The company's primary offering evolved into Jumala, an online platform that enables users to create, modify, and share their own 3D games. Unveiled at the DEMO Spring 2012 conference, Jumala was designed to democratize game development, providing a user-friendly, mouse-driven interface where creators can drag and drop objects, alter terrain, and change lighting without needing programming skills. The technology, developed by former Microsoft and FASA Interactive developer Frank Savage, allows for a high degree of customization. The platform targets game fans aged 13 to 35 and operates on a free-to-play model.
Revenue generation for Jumala is centered on the sale of virtual goods through its marketplace, where users can spend in-game currency earned by having their creations played by others. The business model is structured to not depend on producing a major hit game, but rather on fostering a large community of creators. The company also explored advertising opportunities, allowing brands to build their own games using the Jumala engine. Initially, Blade Games World functioned as an outsourcing and middleware studio, contributing additional graphics to titles such as "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" (2009) and "Blur" (2010).
Keywords: game development, user-generated content, 3D game creation, free-to-play, virtual goods, game engine, online gaming platform, middleware, outsourcing, game modification