Canadian self-published game studio and mobile developers Big Viking Games have secured $21.75 million (£17.4m) a total haul in funds and loans from institutions amongst the likes of the Royal Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada and the Business Development bank of Canada.This monetary surge is to be poured into investing into the continuing development of HTML5. The games company is looking to raise a further £60 million to further close the gap on it’s competitors.
HTML5 is still in it’s youth, being published little over two years ago by the W3C to subsume other HTML variants and provide better support for the latest media. However, it has huge potential to be used for more than just funky web animations – The language was developed to keep low powered devices in mind, introducing APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for complex web applications. Tied with mobile technology getting ever more advanced, most Smartphones now coming with octo-core processors and more RAM than 5 year-old, mid-range laptops, HTML5 has huge scope for web apps and mobile games. This is what Big Viking Games are intent on proving with such conviction.
“Starting in 2012, we made the decision to make significant investments in HTML5 instant games because we saw the potential of the technology and how it will define the future of mobile gaming and entertainment,” States Albert Lai, co-founder and current CEO of Big Viking Games, adding: “Others have moved away from HTML5 due to the technical investment required but we believe that open standards and more powerful devices will pave the way for a massive shift on mobile phones and tablets.”.
The company, which is only in it’s 5th year, has grown organically without any venture capital or outside equity investment, until this recent change, after hitting highs of 180% on EBITDA.
So on the books, the figures look good and now some of Canada’s top institutes are staking big that this young games studio will further their success by continuing to things differently.