Think Gaming uses data science to pick which mobile games to fund

You might have a decent free-to-play mobile game, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot unless you also have the players — and that costs money. That’s where Think Gaming comes in.

Think Gaming is a startup that wants to help developers pay for the ads and other promotions to bring in the gamers free-to-play apps need to thrive. Unlike venture-capital firms, the company doesn’t want equity in return. Instead, Think Gaming will dole out loans based on how high games score on its free Scouting Report, which judges the potential value of a release in several key areas. This may help small studios get the cash they need to break into the $16 billion mobile-gaming industry.