Vgames has raised $142 million for its third fund to continue investing in talented gaming teams around the world.

Led by Eitan Reisel and Daniel Mironov, the fund (which spells its name Vgames) will invest in game studios at different stages, supporting talented founders and supporting them as they grow.

“The third fund is super exciting, because it was just an idea five years ago,” said Reisel, managing director, in an interview with GamesBeat.

The previous funds were $60 million in 2020 and $141 million in 2021.

“We are proud to be one of the leading investors in gaming worldwide. It is a privilege to back talented founders from the early days to the later stages. Vgames leads investments in early stage companies while also leading mega rounds in some of its portfolio,” Reisel said.

Since the launch of Vgames in March 2020, the fund has invested in 38 companies worldwide, making it one of the most active gaming funds in the world. It also invests in “gamification” deals.

“We’re at the top of the performance charts,” Reisel said.

Notable investments include InnPlay Labs (acquired by Playtika for up to $300 million), SuperPlay (acquired by Playtika for up to $1.95 billion), 1047 Games, Candivore (top ten grossing Match 3 game worldwide ), GOAT (former founder of Plarium), Elyzio, 44 ​​Pixels and AMP and others. Exit numbers are in the billions of dollars.

“From Day One we’ve aimed to be a founder-centric fund. My belief is that the more support our founders have, the better off we’ll be,” said Reisel. “I’m very confident in the model we’ve built. and is proud to support leading entrepreneurs around the world from, Israel, Middle East, Europe, US, and soon more parts of the world. Our founders are our success,” Reisel said.

Vgames prides itself as a specialist investment group consisting of Mironov; Reisel; David Digmi, COO; and Riki Papa Pnini, IR and marketing lead.

“We are still very consumer focused,” said Reisel. “Content creation, with most game studios. The strategy is very similar to funding one and funding two. We’re happy with it so why switch?”

All team members play an active role in investments and portfolios. This close, hands-on team enables the fund to make quick decisions while maintaining a trusting investor-entrepreneur relationship. The fund is also stage agnostic, it invests in the very early days of the company through the A and growth rounds.

Reisel said that cross-platform games have come in a big way, and it is good for games to be launched on multiple platforms, including PC, console and mobile.

Asked about investments in blockchain games or the metaverse or AI, Reisel said the company doesn’t believe in trends. He thinks of crypto as a place to trade, rather than a place to play.

“I think it’s very aggressive with how the market has gone. We’re going to see these intersections, but I think it’s going to take a while. As a fund, we’ve taken very few positions,” Reisel said. “You won’t find any big names in crypto on our list. We are very disciplined in creating content. I don’t think it’s technology. It’s more the type of content you play. We always want to invest in games that we believe will appeal to a mass market.

Reisel said he doesn’t think AI will replace game makers anytime soon. He sees great value in casual and mid-core games, art, narrative design and level design when it comes to human capabilities. But he believes that AI can help lower production costs.

“Maybe if you need to put 10 trees on a map, you can do it with AI,” he said.

The fund recently led an undisclosed $50 million round in one of its portfolio companies. Among the support provided by the fund is nondilutive financing for growth companies as an alternative to equity – win win for founders and investors.

“We invest in teams, content and believe in a data-driven approach,” said Mironov, partner and game expert at Vgames, in a statement. “Depending on the stage of the company we analyze the genre, metrics if applicable and growth opportunity, and based on that drive our investment decisions. We look for the strongest teams out there, teams that are not afraid to think big and face red ocean opportunities. We are often asked if we invest in Mobile / PC / Consoles.”

Mironov added, “Our answer is consistent: We have a content-first approach. So, as long as players enjoy playing, as long as there is a strong business model to support it and as long as there is a lot of potential, we like to explore.

Vgames intends to maintain the same rhythm of investment and deploy capital quickly to grow its portfolio and also support the existing portfolio.

Among the investments, Reisel is optimistic about 1047 Games’ and its pending launch in May of Splitgate 2. Reisel said he sees companies like 1047 Games benefiting from remote work.

Vgames expects to hire its first investor outside of Israel, although the fund is a global investor in companies across Europe, India, Turkey and the Middle East.

“We’re here to expand when we see opportunities that we can pursue,” Reisel said.

There are times when the company makes an investment every month, he said. He said he hoped the situation in Israel would improve.

“I live in Israel,” he said. “I have to be optimistic.”

And he said he’s hopeful that people will continue to play.

“The number of people around the world is only increasing. The connection is increasing. I think the fact that today’s games can run on low-end devices in three tier countries – this is very important,” said Reisel. “We’re focusing on that with a lot of companies in our portfolio,” he said. “Games can be accessed on any device. We see a lot of innovation in companies, and IP owners will still continue to perform for many years.