The Evolving Landscape of the Gaming Industry

The gaming industry is currently experiencing unprecedented growth and attracting substantial investment. Investors are allocating significant capital to emerging companies demonstrating agility in adapting to rapidly changing market dynamics, often surpassing the responsiveness of established industry leaders.

Manticore Games, headquartered in the Bay Area, is a next-generation gaming platform aiming to capitalize on this momentum. The company recently announced the completion of a $100 million Series C funding round, increasing their total funding to $160 million, as reported to TechCrunch.

Recent Funding and Key Investors

This funding round was spearheaded by XN, with contributions from SoftBank and LVP, alongside existing investors including Benchmark, Bitkraft, Correlation Ventures, and Epic Games. This injection of capital signifies strong confidence in Manticore’s potential.

According to CEO Frederic Descamps, the shift in investor perception began around September 2019, coinciding with increased venture capital interest in Roblox and the broader gaming sector. However, the onset of the pandemic dramatically accelerated these expectations.

Manticore’s Core Platform and Competitive Positioning

Manticore’s Core platform shares conceptual similarities with Roblox, but differentiates itself by targeting a slightly older demographic – users aged 13 and above who may have outgrown Roblox. A key challenge lies in attracting this audience before Roblox can broaden its appeal.

The company faces competition from other venture-backed gaming startups, such as Rec Room, which recently achieved a valuation of $1.2 billion, all vying for the same user base.

Integrating Game Creation and Discovery

Manticore is focused on integrating a game discovery platform directly within a game engine. Rather than developing the engine technology independently, they are collaborating closely with Epic Games, the creators of the Unreal Engine, who invested $15 million in Manticore last year.

The Core platform emphasizes a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface for game creation, with a particular emphasis on “remixing.” This allows users to quickly assemble games by selecting pre-built environments, incorporating pre-rendered 3D assets, and choosing a game mode for immediate web publication.

Empowering Creators and Monetization Opportunities

While some technical expertise is required for advanced customization and asset integration, Manticore aims to lower the barriers to entry for new creators. The company hopes this approach will foster growth alongside the platform itself.

Manticore’s core strategy hinges on the engine’s flexibility, offering creators the opportunity to engineer unique game mechanics and explore alternative monetization paths unavailable on traditional app stores.

Co-founder Jordan Maynard explains that the platform will enable creators to implement their own in-app purchase systems, potentially leading to innovative monetization models like a new iteration of the battle pass concept.

Revenue Sharing and Platform Fees

Developers on the Core platform receive 50% of the revenue generated by their games. While this means a portion of revenue is allocated to platform fees, it represents a more favorable revenue split for creators compared to platforms like Roblox.

Challenges and Future Outlook

Developing cross-platform gaming platforms presents unique hurdles. These platforms must navigate complex revenue-sharing arrangements with non-PC platforms and contend with hardware manufacturers, such as Sony PlayStation, who may restrict access.

Long-term success may depend on achieving greater independence from these ecosystems, a scenario that currently appears challenging to realize on consoles and mobile platforms.

Ultimately, the future of these platforms may rely on establishing a more autonomous operational structure.