Culver City-based mobile game publisher Scopely Inc. announced March 10 that it has partnered with newly launched Bay Area game developer Burlingame Studios Inc. and has invested $20 million in the startup.
Scopely said Burlingame Studios would join its “dynamic studio ecosystem,” a network of in-house and partner studios that publish games with Scopely and use the company’s proprietary operations platform.
Scopely’s chief revenue officer, Tim O’Brien, said that Scopely and Burlingame Studios share a vision and approach to mobile gaming.
“We are proud to invest in this group of gamemakers who are deeply committed to building the best experiences possible,” O’Brien said in a statement. “We believe our ecosystem is extremely unique and are always energized when new partners see the value of our infrastructure and technology – specifically our platform Playgami – to make their fun, creative gameplay into a big business.”
Burlingame Studios is headed by Chris McGill, a former executive at mobile game developer Glu Mobile Inc., which was acquired last year by industry giant Electronic Arts Inc.
Scopely said many of the founding members of Burlingame Studios are former employees of Glu Mobile and CrowdStar, which was purchased by Glu Mobile in 2017.
CrowdStar is the developer of the virtual styling game “Covet Fashion” and interior decorating simulator “Design Home.”
Scopely didn’t say whether Burlingame Studios would have a similar focus on fashion and design-themed content, but McGill said in a statement that the team in place at the fledgling studio would “build on our collective track record of big wins.”
McGill added that Scopely’s tech platform made the company an attractive publisher for Burlingame Studios.
“With many years of experience creating games, we knew exactly what we wanted and needed in a partner,” said McGill.
Already, Scopely boasts a library that includes some of the most popular games playable on mobile devices. These include word puzzle game “Scrabble Go” and strategy game “Star Trek Fleet Command.”
According to mobile data analyst Sensor Tower Inc., Scopely titles netted 2 million total downloads in February, while generating $39 million in revenue.
