The eSports world made a huge announcement as video game matchmaker FaceIt raised $15 million in venture capital, according to the LA Times. The money, which was raised by several firms including Anthos Capital, Index Ventures, and United Ventures, is going to be used to support the opening of a California office in Santa Monica as well as add more players, gamemakers, and advertisers. The London-based FaceIt announced that the new Santa Monica office is planning on hiring a dozen people by the end of the year.
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We start off 2016 with a bang! We raised a $15 million investment and opened our LA office! https://t.co/IT5AbAa4eG
— FACEIT (@FACEIT) January 26, 2016
Gamers who are interested in online eSports matchmaking can visit the website for exact details on how FaceIt works. Initially, users download their software onto the gaming platform where the games are played. Next, users register their favorite games on FaceIt and start playing. Once FaceIt users have downloaded the software and registered the games, users can participate in tournaments and leagues for prizes through automatic tournament matchmaking. FaceIt also tracks users and their statistics in order to get them into the better tournaments as a result of rankings.
In addition to helping users find games, FaceIt also incentivizes users to join by offering coins to those who continue to play. The coins can be redeemed for free gaming gear. The basic FaceIt software is free, however, it limits the amount of playing and tournaments users can enter. There are two more payment levels that users can choose, with the top level allowing unlimited access and enrollment into the best matches for a monthly fee of £5.99 ($8.63).
The company was founded in 2012 and already has more than 3.5 million users. Founder and CEO of FaceIt, Niccolo Maisto, mentioned in a Variety.com article that, “With this round of funding, we will be able to further our three-pronged mission for a competitive gaming platform: a robust competitive community for players and organizers, an easy-to-implement competitive layer for developers, and custom offerings for brands, tied to their products and services.”
The investors for FaceIt are confident that the company will continue to deliver and build on its success. The company already generates millions of dollars in monthly revenue and is growing at 15-20% month to month, according to Maisto. One partner for the venture capital firm Index Ventures, Ben Holmes, said in a statement that, “FaceIt has proven an ability to build mutually successful partnerships with game publishers, major media companies and other industry leaders.” This proven ability has led to the $15 million dollars that FaceIt raised.
The FaceIt announcement should not come as a surprise, as eSports continue to gain popularity in the United States. According to a Variety.com article, a study found that nearly 70% of Americans, from 8 to 64 years old, play some type of game, and of that group 18% have watched E-Sports online or attended an event. The idea of online matchmaking makes sense, especially for gamers interested in rising to the top ranks of gaming and monetizing their skills. As mentioned in the LA Times article, getting matches made with other top gamers is making people play 30% more matches after coming through FaceIt. Top talent of gamers want to continue to play against top talent in order to get better and hopefully make a career out of online video games. FaceIt is doing an excellent job at filling a growing need for the E-Sports community.