Cary, North Carolina-based online game developer, Icarus Studios, has raised more than $8.1 million in a regulatory filing. Fallen Earth is the flagship game title the developer launched in 2009. The post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer online game is a first-person shooter and role-playing game set in the Grand Canyon in 2156. Since then, the company released companion apps on iPhone, Android, and Blackberry platforms that offer mobile gameplay-related extensions to Fallen Earth.
Investors listed in the filing include Icarus’ CEO Phil Hall and Chief Finance and Operations Officer Stephen Gentzler, as well as two other investors from New Jersey.
In May 2010, Icarus Studios was aggressively restructured, cutting its staff from 110 to 35, reallocating company staff and resources, and partnered with Interactive Gaming Software for its specialized digital and retail distribution services. This new cash infusion should at least buy Icarus Studios time to improve the profile and strengths of Fallen Earth, as well as to take on new projects.
[Source: Triangle Business Journal]
There’s a significant update to last week’s story on the investment into Icarus Studio’s: It seems the New Jersey investors who have taken part in investing in Icarus Studios are, interestingly enough, a creator of collectible toys and action figures, the National Entertainment Collectibles Association. The $1.1 million investment makes the company the majority owner of the company at this time. Along with with new infusion of cash, Icarus also converted $7 million of existing debt into equity.
On the organizational side, “Phil Hall, Icarus’ CEO, and Brad Lineberger, the company’s chief technical officer, are remaining with the business. (Icarus’ chief financial officer Stephen) Gentzler said he will be departing after a transition period as part of a consolidation of financial operations, but he expects to remain chief financial officer of Fallen Earth on a contract basis.”
(http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/05/1105488/online-game-developer-icarus-gets.html)