Mochi Launches Mochi Social, $10M Game Developer Fund
Online gaming network Mochi Media launched its Mochi Social platform for adding social features to Flash games and monetizing them, and announced a $10 million Mochi Game Developer Fund.
Mochi Social enables developers to build features like inviting friends, sending gifts, or posting to an activity stream into their Flash titles. These features are available wherever a particular game is played, whether on a social network or portal, and can plug into social graphs across Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter -- with support for more networks planned.
Developers using Mochi Social can broadcast in-game notifications through a notification channel, keeps fans of a specific game informed about game updates, friend activity, or challenges. The platform also collects and offers data on gameplay and virality, which developers can study and use to adapt their titles.
Mochi Social is currently in private beta, though the first game to use the platform, A Thinking Ape's Kingdoms of War, will release next week. Developers can learn more about Mochi Social and apply to participate in the beta at the company's site.
"Social gaming exploded during the last year, with the market now estimated to be worth more than $1 billion," says Mochi Media CEO Jameson Hsu. "Mochi Social takes the experience of social games and makes it completely distributable, able to be played on any Web site inside or outside of social networks. Mochi Social helps developers expand beyond the confines of the existing social canvas to reach a whole new audience and growth."
Mochi Media and its new parent company Shanda Games Limited also revealed the Mochi Game Developer Fund, a $10 million fund designed to assist "small Flash game development studios and independent game developers worldwide in building world-class games and businesses" through sponsorship, licensing, and publishing deals.
The fund is a joint effort between Mochi Media and Shanghai-based online gaming company Shanda. Members from their management team will oversee the initiative and provide access to technical, design, and testing resources from Shanda games to participating developers. Mochi Media will offer development tools and distribution to almost 40,000 sites globally.
The fund's initial investments could reach up to $100,000 per game. Shanda and Mochi add that they have a "a longer-term vision of developing relationships with world-class Flash game developers for multi-game distribution deals" with the fund, too.
"With the creation of the Mochi Game Developer Fund, we're putting substantive muscle behind encouraging creativity in Flash and social gaming," says Justin Wong, general manager of the fund and Mochi Media's business development head. "We are committed to working with developers all around the world to create games unlike we have ever experienced before and help catalyze growth of the browser-based game industry."
