Virtual reality (VR) specialist studio Kite & Lightning is well versed in creating immersive cinematic experiences. The team has already created popular titles such as Senza Peso and Neuro but none of these were actual videogames. Then in November last year the studio revealed its first official videogame a vehicular melee party brawler called Bebylon: Battle Royale. To help with development efforts Kite & Lightning launched a sees funding round which the studio has announced today raised $2.5 million USD.
In a blog posting today, the two-man team consisting of both Cory Strassburger and Ikrima Elhassan revealed the seed round was lead by Raine Ventures, it also included Courtside Ventures, Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund, Social Capital, Outpost Capital, Boost VC, & Jason Rosenthal, CEO of Lytro.
Along with the funding announcement Kite & Lightning also had a few other things to share: “We’ve been keeping a big secret about Bebylon under wraps since it’s inception: We’re actually building an entire virtual world!
“While the Smash Bros-esque game is the fundamental core of BBRAG, we always envisioned a world that you could immerse yourself in. We want to create this amazing comedic world where you can craft your own personal character, cheer/boo/support your friends as a live audience member in the gladiatorial stages, or explore the world of Bebylon, from the shows it has to offer to the characters that inhabit it.
“Basically, we want to create a mini-Sword Art Online…except in comedy…with adorable narcissistic babies….who love trolling each other.”
And the team weren’t finished there either, thanks to the funding the duo has now doubled in size to four members of staff and they’re still after multidisciplinary contractors or full timers who want to work in programming, game design, art, and producing.
So all things are go at Kite & Lightning, and as VRFocus learns more about Bebylon: Battle Royale we’ll bring you the latest details.
