Gamevestor: A European Crowdfunding Platform for Gaming’s Investment Gap
▼ Summary
– Industry veterans founded Gamevestor, a French crowdfunding platform, after experiencing the post-COVID difficulty of securing traditional investment for their own game studio.
– The platform allows consumers to back projects traditionally or invest €100+ for a share of a game’s revenue, aiming to transform players into investors.
– Gamevestor vets all projects, provides studios with tailored marketing support, and disburses funds in milestone-based stages to reduce risk for investors.
– The founders argue their service addresses a market gap where rising costs make platforms like Kickstarter insufficient for full funding, and investor risk-aversion leaves mid-sized studios struggling.
– The company has secured €1 million in funding and aims to become the leading funding source for mid-tier games, with publishers already showing interest in its derisking model.
Securing investment for video game development has become a significant hurdle, particularly for mid-sized studios caught between small indie projects and major AAA titles. The traditional funding landscape has tightened considerably, with publishers and investors becoming more risk-averse despite having capital available. This challenging environment is precisely the gap a new platform called Gamevestor aims to fill. Founded by industry veterans Ivan Marchand and Arthur Van Clap Ceulen, this French-based service is a dedicated crowdfunding platform designed to connect game projects directly with community-backed investment.
The concept emerged from the founders’ own frustrating experiences trying to fund a new studio. They repeatedly heard that their strong team and concept would have been funded just a few years prior, but the market had shifted. Recognizing a systemic issue, they developed Gamevestor to transform players into investors through a revenue-sharing model. The platform is exclusively for games, vetting all projects through an expert team and offering tailored support to a select number of studios.
Unlike traditional crowdfunding where backers might only receive a game copy, Gamevestor allows individuals to invest 100 euros or more for a share of a project’s future revenue. The platform recently secured one million euros in funding, which is being used to cover regulatory costs and further develop the service. Gamevestor operates on a boutique model, providing real marketing support and funds to the studios it selects, sharing the risk alongside developers and investors.
Campaigns on the platform run for 45 days and feature objectives similar to stretch goals. A unique angel investor group can commit funds ten days before a campaign goes public to generate initial traction. Furthermore, to protect investors and ensure project accountability, funds are disbursed to developers in milestone-based stages, not as a single lump sum. This approach mirrors publisher funding models and prevents studios from disappearing with the entire raised amount.
The need for such a platform is underscored by the changing dynamics of game crowdfunding. While platforms like Kickstarter remain popular for marketing and validation, the soaring costs of game production mean the amounts raised are often insufficient to fully fund development. Gamevestor positions itself as the necessary link, providing the substantial capital required beyond an initial community signal. The platform specifically targets mid-sized games, which the founders identify as having the highest potential return on investment yet facing the greatest funding difficulties.
Gamevestor’s website launches ahead of a full platform rollout, with several projects already lined up. The founders report strong interest from both small studios and established names attracted by the prospect of leveraging their player communities for funding and creating aligned marketing advocates. The model also appeals to traditional publishers looking to derisk investments; a successfully crowd-funded project demonstrates proven player interest, making it a more attractive co-investment opportunity.
The long-term vision for Gamevestor is ambitious. The founders aim to make it the leading funding method for mid-tier studios and eventually work with major intellectual properties. By creating a ecosystem where players, developers, and publishers share both the risk and the potential rewards, Gamevestor seeks to rebalance a funding market that currently leaves too many promising projects without the capital to succeed.
(Source: Games Industry)