Gamestry Secures $5M Funding for Game Video Creators

Gamestry Secures $5 Million Seed Funding Amid Rapid Expansion

Gamestry, a gaming video platform headquartered in Barcelona, has successfully raised $5 million in seed funding. The investment round was spearheaded by Goodwater Capital, Target Global, and Kibo Ventures, reflecting a noteworthy 175x growth rate experienced over the last year.

Platform Evolution and Growth

Launched in 2018, the platform initially concentrated on curated learning materials related to gaming. However, a strategic shift occurred last year, enabling creators to upload and distribute entertainment-focused gaming videos alongside educational content.

This adjustment appears to have been a successful strategy. Gamestry currently boasts 4 million monthly active users (MAUs) and 2,000 active creators, primarily located in Spain and Latin America. The company aims to reach 20 million MAUs by year-end.

Addressing a Gap in the Market

While Twitch remains the dominant force in livestreaming games and caters to the esports community, Gamestry distinguishes itself by focusing on “non-live video content.” The platform positions itself as a dedicated on-demand video service designed to better support game-focused video creators.

Furthermore, Gamestry intends to offer game enthusiasts a more efficient content discovery experience compared to larger, general user-generated content platforms like YouTube.

Creator-Focused Revenue Model

Gamestry is attracting creators with the promise of a more favorable revenue share than other UGC video platforms. They highlight “a fair ads revenue share model” and plans to introduce additional monetization opportunities for creators in the near future.

Transparency in the monetization structure and dedicated technical support for creators are also key commitments made by the platform. This directly addresses common complaints regarding support deficiencies on platforms like YouTube.

Enhanced Viewer Experience

For viewers, Gamestry offers a centralized hub for discovering and watching game-related videos, alongside opportunities to connect with fellow gaming enthusiasts through integrated chat features. Content is organized around specific game titles for easy navigation.

The platform also claims to provide viewers with more comprehensive video information, aiding in their decision-making process and helping them identify “quality instead of clickbait.” However, some users may still encounter attention-grabbing thumbnails and titles.

Challenging the Status Quo

Founders Alejo and Guillermo Torrens argue that YouTube, while widely used for content uploads, is a generic platform not specifically optimized for gaming. They believe that specialized platforms are emerging to meet the evolving needs of a growing gaming market.

“Vertical or specialized platforms emerge whenever markets become large enough that current platforms can’t serve their users’ needs and we believe that’s exactly what’s happening today,” they stated.

Investor Perspective

Lina Chong of Target Global, who led the investment, highlighted Gamestry’s recent growth and its ability to quickly attract a large number of highly engaged game-content creators.

“The problem Gamestry is addressing is that the vast majority of creators don’t make much money on those platforms because they are ads/eyeball-driven businesses,” Chong explained to TechCrunch. “Gamestry provides a space where creators, despite audience size, can find new ways to engage with their audience and make a living. This problem among creators is so big that Gamestry now has over 2,000 highly engaged creators uploading multiple content pieces and millions of their viewers on the platform every month.”

Demographics and Popular Games

The typical Gamestry user is a male between the ages of 18 and 24. The most popular games on the platform include Minecraft, Free Fire, and Fortnite, with “IRL content” also proving successful.

Competitive Landscape

Gamestry faces competition from other platforms vying for the attention of gaming enthusiasts, including YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming, and Booyah.