Noodle Cat Games has raised $12 Million in funding to bring fresh ideas to the action role-playing game genre.
Salt Lake City, Utah-based Noodle Cat Games is an indie game development studio founded by industry veterans. London-based Hiro Capital led the round with participation from Makers Fund, Krafton, and Sony Innovation Fund.
The core team at Noodle Cat Games comes from studios such as Epic Games, Electronic Arts, and BioWare. These seasoned professionals have held leadership roles in the development of legendary titles like Fortnite, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Infinity Blade. Noodle Cat Games is now poised to embark on the development of its first original intellectual property — an innovative multiplayer action RPG.
David Hunt, CEO of Noodle Cat Games, said in a statement, “The game industry is ripe for a revolution in how we work – a revolution that maximizes individual creative impact, leading to better games and greater team satisfaction.”
He added, “Over the last year, Noodle Cat has iterated from hypothesis to an effective development structure that has resulted in a unique gameplay experience. We’re excited at the opportunity this fundraising round gives us to fully execute on building awesome games in pursuit of a better future for the industry. I’m deeply grateful to the world-class investors that are supporting our vision.”
Noodle Cat Games is committed to establishing a flexible, iteration-based games studio that prioritizes creativity, employee well-being, career growth, and equitable compensation. The funds raised in the Series A round will be utilized to accelerate development and expand the team, with the goal of attracting the best creative talent from across the gaming industry.
“Their game is a lot of fun, and we are privileged to be backing such a strong team of industry veterans. I look forward to supporting Noodle Cat as they build a world-class studio and implement their vision,” said Ian Livingstone, general partner at Hiro Capital, in a statement.
Joseph Tou, managing director at Sony Ventures (and a speaker at next week’s GamesBeat Next event; you can use this code for 25% off: gbnextebvip), echoed the sentiment, saying, “We’re thrilled to be part of this exciting journey with Noodle Cat Games. Their vision for innovation in the Action RPG genre, utilizing physics-based combat, combined with the vast experience of their team, creates a compelling formula for success. We have confidence in their capacity to thrive in the ever-evolving gaming industry.”
While details about Noodle Cat Games’ inaugural title are set to be revealed in 2024, the studio is currently focused on expanding its team to bring their vision to life. Open positions can be found on the Noodle Cat Games website.
In an email to GamesBeat, Hunt said, “I’ve been designing games the majority of my life. Like most designers, my main motivation has always been to make great games, and that desire is shared across the entire team at Noodle Cat.”
Hunt added, “But, the longer I’ve been in the industry, the more discussions with colleagues raised a troubling theme: there’s a strong disconnect between how the industry makes games and what fosters creativity and effective iteration, which are at the core of a great game. That grew into a question “what if we applied the same care and principles we use in making games to designing a company? In time, the answer to that question became Noodle Cat. This is our pursuit of a better way to make games.”
The company has 19 full-time people and raised $16.1 million to date.