S01 E06 Ville Heijariand and Arseny Lebedev from Original Games on raising cash and merge mechanics

Hello world! Welcome to episode six of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast, your regular round-up of the world of mobile gaming.

In this episode, we have a world exclusive chat with the ‘supergroup’ studio Original Games. Founded by veterans and executives from Machine Zone and Rovio, the developer has just raised a significant amount of money and plans to take their merge game mechanic into the big time. Listen in to find out more and hear from co-founders Ville Heijariand and Arseny Lebedev. (11m:45s)

The team also dive into the recent news, with a focus on funding and finance. According to Drake Star partners, the amount of investment in 2021 to date is already double that from the whole of 2020, with 844 individual deals identified, with a total value exceeding $71 billion. The PG team explores where this is taking us… (01m:37s)

Useful links:

• https://originalgames.io/
• https://www.pocketgamer.biz/asia/news/77206/mobile-premier-league-raises-150-million/
• https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/77342/homa-games-raises-50-million/
• https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/77333/mygames-venture-capital-invests-tworogue-wideview/
• https://www.pocketgamer.biz/asia/news/77337/nazara-raises-42-million-to-fund-growth-initiatives-and-acquisitions/
• https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/77335/bitkraft-ventures-75-million-fund-blockchain-gaming/
• https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/77308/original-games-6-million-seed-funding/
• https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/77328/zynga-closes-starlark-acquisition/
• https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/77327/applovin-buys-mopub-from-twitter-1-billion/

We also run down the forthcoming events, conferences, pitches, parties and rap battles coming from the team at Steel Media. (36m:27s)

With thanks again to Ville, Arseny and the Original Games team. Do check out Merge Inn on your devices of choice.

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