Bringing open source to the game industry to let developers reclaim control over the technology powering their games
W4 Games, an Irish COSS (Commercial Open Source Software) startup based on the open source game development technology of the Godot Engine platform, announced today that it has successfully closed a US $8.5 million seed funding investment round led by OSS Capital, the world’s first and only early-stage COSS company investor and platform, and LUX Capital, a leading Silicon Valley VC specialized in emerging science and technology ventures. The funding process was also joined by industry veteran Bob Young, the founder of Red Hat, and Sisu Game Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on games.
The funds will be used to expand W4 Games’ core team and accelerate the development of a suite of products and services for the Godot ecosystem, enabling all developers to create and publish games and applications on all major platforms. The company will present its product roadmap at GDC 2023.
W4 Games will also directly support the Godot project with donations, talent and code contributions.
Juan Linietsky, CEO of W4 Games and co-creator of Godot Engine said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to help Godot and the game development community realize their potential, and to significantly contribute to the Open Source ecosystem. The video game industry has lagged behind the rest of the software industry for a long time in regards to Free and Open Source technology adoption and we want to help change this with a quality offering of services our community and the game industry as a whole can leverage.”
Nicola Farronato, Co-founder and CMO of W4 Games said that “it is an incredible new venture which we aim to build as a global company through key initial target markets in Europe and the US. We have adopted a multiplayer-like organizational structure, made of a highly talented team distributed internationally from day one. Starting up our journey in Ireland represents a great opportunity for us to nurture our business growth in one of the best startup ecosystems in Europe.”
Joseph Jacks, Founder and GP at OSS Capital commented: “We are incredibly honored to lead the seed funding round in W4 Games, creators and stewards of the world’s #1 leading 2D/3D open source game engine: Godot. W4 Games is led by Juan Linietsky and a team who have built a vibrant and mature community of contributors and enthusiasts across many thousands of game development studios, and also engendered the trust of millions of fans who play and engage in the metaverses powered by Godot. Last year, SEGA chose Godot to develop and produce the latest Sonic Colors: Ultimate game for PC and consoles, marking a huge milestone — the first major mainstream game powered by Godot. W4 has many exciting things in store for the world. Open, user-empowered infrastructure and platforms are coming!”
Brandon Reeves, Partner at Lux Capital commented: “We are thrilled to support W4 Games in their seed round to help support and grow the Godot community. We believe Godot to the gaming industry can become what Linux was to the software and IT industry. Open source game development will become an increasingly important technology and the Godot community is at the center of that universe.”
Paul Bragiel, Partner at SISU.VC commented: “When Juan invited us to be part of the team’s journey, we simply couldn’t say no. W4 Games’ upcoming offering represents a significant leap forward for the growing Godot community and the future of fully open source game development. With the Godot project now combining the world of community passion-driven open source development with enterprise-level resources and a pragmatic understanding of business challenges, developers of all sizes can finally take total control of the tech powering their games.”
About W4 Games
Founded in 2021, W4 Games is an Irish startup formed by Godot veterans Juan Linietsky, Rémi Verschelde and Fabio Alessandrelli, and veteran entrepreneur Nicola Farronato. The company aims to help the gaming industry reclaim control of the technology it uses to create games. Its mission is to enable companies to have the same freedom to innovate as if they created their own in-house engine, but without needing an in-house technology team behind. W4 Games offers a set of products and services for both enterprise and independent developers to make the best possible use of the free and open source Godot Engine, so they can develop games and bring them to market with peace of mind.
For more information about W4 Games, please visit w4games.com.
For more information about Godot Engine, please visit godotengine.org.
Contact: contact@w4games.com