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Sneaky Panda, a nascent game developer based in Israel, announced today it has raised $6 million as part of its efforts to launch a new mobile game genre. Bitkraft Ventures led the round of fundraising, with Reimagine Ventures, FireArc, Joakim Achrén, and Eyal Chomski participating. According to the company, the money will go towards expanding the company’s talent.
Sneaky Panda’s founders have several years of experience with mobile gaming. Ron Rejwan, co-founder and CEO, was one of the founders of Jelly Button Games, the publisher of Pirate Kings. Niv Touboul, another founder, was formerly the founder of Upopa Games and also served as head of in-house games at SuperSonic.
Sneaky Panda refers to the new genre it intends to launch as a “luck-puzzler.” Rejwan said in a statement, “The mobile gaming market is saturated with companies that are trying to make better versions of existing products, but our approach at Sneaky Panda is to introduce the ‘Luck-Puzzler’ genre, a completely new genre that puts more emphasis on skill and strategy than current mobile games in the market. A new generation of mobile players have emerged and they are ready for more diverse and challenging gameplay experiences.”
Apparently the luck-puzzler genre caught the attention of some, including Bitkraft. Founding partner Malte Barth said in a statement, “Mobile gaming represents one of the fastest-growing gaming platforms worldwide and the market is ripe for genre innovations. The Sneaky Panda team is creating a completely new genre in the mobile gaming space, and we believe there is a sizable audience that play puzzle and luck games that will appreciate the innovative design of Sneaky Panda’s first title and become loyal community.”
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