Online games powerhouse Turbine confirmed that it has raised $40 million, though the actual investors are different from what was previously rumored.
Time Warner and GGV Capital led the round along with existing investors Highland Capital Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Tudor Ventures and Columbia Capital. The investment will be used to accelerate Turbine’s growth in online games. Previously, Granite Ventures was the rumored lead.
Turbine is expanding its properties, including “Lord of the Rings Online,” which is being launched around the world. Jim Crowley, CEO of the Massachusetts company, said in an interview that the Asia expansion alone will bring millions of subscribers to that game. Turbine also wants to fund the expansion of properties like Dungeons & Dragons Online, which on its own isn’t generating enough revenue to fund expansion. And then the company has a couple of more secret projects in the works.
My guess remains that they’re going to do a console MMO game based on The Lord of the Rings Online. Taking the MMO to the consoles would be a big deal and would help it compete head-to-head with console MMO rivals such as Sony and NCSoft.