VIDEO GAME LIVESTREAM PLATFORM HITBOX.TV CLOSES $4 MILLION GROWTH ROUND INCLUDING GAME DEVELOPER AND PUBLISHER, WARGAMING

VIDEO GAME LIVESTREAM PLATFORM HITBOX.TV CLOSES $4 MILLION GROWTH ROUND INCLUDING GAME DEVELOPER AND PUBLISHER, WARGAMING

Hitbox, home to millions of PC game livestreamers and esports enthusiasts, revealed it successfully closed a $4 million growth round of investment to expand its North American operations and worldwide reach. The round was led by Vienna-based VC-firm Speedinvest and also includes leading free-to-play MMO developer and publisher, Wargaming.net; North Base Media; as well as angel investors. Sean Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at Wargaming will join the board of directors. This investment follows a seed round of $1 million from angel investors, which closed in 2014.

“Supporting live streaming for our games and fans has always been a key pillar in our strategy for growing our online presence,” said Sean Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at Wargaming. “Hitbox allows us to truly make live streaming an extension of Wargaming and our titles through the ability to integrate game data into the broadcast. Gamers will be able to share their experiences easier than ever before and our channels will have the robust infrastructure AAA gaming demands.”

Oliver Holle, CEO Speedinvest adds:”Esports is an exploding market and Hitbox is the top contender to win market share from previous monopolist Twitch and others. WithHitbox’s laser focus on the gaming community and its superior technology, we see nothing but growth.”

Martin Klimscha, CEO and co-founder of Hitbox adds: “While many of our peers thought there was no room for a new competitor next to the industry giants in this space, we were right to focus on technological innovation and foster a friendly and dynamic community of gamers, which has helped us to grow to more than 6 million dedicated fans in less than two years. We are huge fans of Wargaming, and we welcome them as an investor and partner who share our vision of taking video game livestreaming to the next level. Speedinvest has been an extraordinary partner since our initial seed round and this investment strengthens our relationship as we prepare to expand our operations and visibility.”

With the new round of funding, Hitbox is focused on continuing to deliver innovation in both technology and community-building efforts. This autumn, as the only live-streaming platform with 4K technical capabilities, Hitbox will be the first to begin broadcasting esports events in 4K at 60 fps. On the community front, Hitbox recently announced a new revenue-for-all model, which is driving broadcaster growth across all games and genres. Now all Hitbox broadcasters, no matter the size of their viewing audience, can participate in revenue sharing through video advertisements and viewer subscriptions.

About Hitbox
Hitbox is the favorite online community for millions of gamers around the world. Home to the highest quality videogame live streaming, the most advanced chat and interactive platform, and the most engaged community for streaming and talking about all-things-gaming, from competitive esports to new indie hits, Hitbox is the web’s virtual gameroom where gamers go to hangout. It is the only streaming service to offer a delay-free experience with resolutions up to 4K 60fps. Hitbox’s state-of-the-art, HTML5-based chat features allow unprecedented sharing and community involvement for broadcasters and viewers alike. Based in Vienna, Austria, Hitbox is available globally at hitbox.tv, as well as for iOS and Android.
Official website:
• http://www.hitbox.tv
About Wargaming
Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles. Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to the mid-20th century warfare that will include the armored World of Tanks, the flight combat World of Warplanes, and the naval World of Warships. The three intertwined titles will form a common gaming universe integrated within the portal www.wargaming.net. .
As part of its multiplatform line-up, the company has introduced World of Tanks on Xbox and World of Tanks Blitz on mobile and tablet. Launched in 2014 and 2015, World of Tanks on Xbox introduced epic tank-on-tank battles to console gamers and offers the first cross-platform gaming experience between Xbox 360 and Xbox One. In 2015, Wargaming announced World of Tanks for Sony’s PlayStation®4, continuing its console campaign. The mobile MMO game World of Tanks Blitz has opened up Wargaming’s trademark team-based military IP to smartphone and tablet users worldwide.
Official website:
• www.wargaming.com

About SpeedInvest
Speedinvest is an Austrian venture capital fund founded in 2011 with €68M under management that invests in European early stage technology startups. Speedinvest’s offices in Austria and the Silicon Valley focus on actively supporting its portfolio companies in global market entry, with a strong focus on the US. www.speedinvest.com.