Faced with gaming industry downturn, Bitkraft Ventures raises $275 million to support studios and platform

Bitkraft Ventures, a gaming investor based in Denver, Colorado but whose founders are European, has raised its third fund with $275 million. The fund will make seed and Series A investments in game studios and platforms that support game production. These moves come at a time when gaming investment is actually down 72% year-over-year, according to a recent Pitchbook report.

Founded by gaming industry veteran Jens Hilgers, Bitkraft has more than 130 companies in its portfolio and over $1 billion in assets under management.

The venture capitalist is an investor in Frost Giant Studios, something Hilgers seemed particularly excited about.

“Frost Giant has set out to create a successor in the real-time strategy space. The team has previously worked on StarCraft, and now they are launching a game called Stormgate. It is highly anticipated and has received Great early reviews. This is a great example of the type of gaming company we invest in.”

Other investments include Anzu, an in-game advertising platform; Carry1st, an Africa-focused mobile gaming platform; InWorld, a social platform; Karate Combat, a martial arts league; and Immutable, the creator of the Gods Unchained crypto game.

The company’s limited partner base is made up of family offices and institutional funds, he said, identifying a major global sportswear company as a limited partner but was not authorized to disclose the name.

“Our strategy for the second fund is about 30 to 35 companies, average size of about $4 million, 50% initial capital and 50% follow-on capital. So far, the strategy looks to be successful. We are ranked high in the latest Cambridge Associates rankings and we are pleased with this performance,” he added.

Perhaps the best way to position Bitkraft is to compare it to Singapore’s Play Ventures, which has raised $222.9 million across 4 funds but also invests in multiple types of gaming platforms.