Deal Radar 2008: Trion World Network

We continue our coverage of gaming companies with Trion World Network, which publishes and develops games that exploit the potential of ubiquitous broadband. By using the latest cloud computing technology and architecture, the company is transforming the way connected games are designed and made available to the public.

Trion was founded in 2006 by Dr. Lars Buttler and Jon Van Caneghem. Dr. Buttler, who is now CEO, was previously VP for Global Online at Electronic Arts, the world’s largest developer of interactive software in the gaming industry. Jon Van Caneghem, who is now president and CCO (Chief Creative Officer), has spent over twenty years of his career shaping the future of the now-defunct game developer New World Computing.

Trion has backing from three top media companies and well-known venture capitalists. In July 2007 Trion secured $30 million in funding in a round led by Rustic Canyon Partners and existing investors DCM and Trinity Ventures. New participants were Time Warner, GE/NBC Universal’s Peacock Equity Fund and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. Previous funding information has not been made available, but Trion is one of the most well-funded gaming ventures out there.

In June of this year, Trion signed an agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc (SCEA) to develop and publish games for the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in North America. This partnership gives Trion the opportunity to use a major entertainment channel to bring their innovative, interactive entertainment to the market. Trion has also signed a major co-development deal with the Sci-Fi Channel. The company is building games which are available to users on multiple platforms so that they can be accessed from computers and mobile phones. The games are so dynamic that the story will change every day, similar to a TV show.

Through such strategic alliances, Trion is positioning itself for leadership in the fairly new multi-billion dollar connected entertainment market. The company has not launched yet and is still under tight wraps. However, Trion has a bold vision, humongous capital resources, and a market wind that is blowing in its favor.

Let’s see what they come up with in a few months!

Related reading:

*Realtime Worlds
*Viacom’s Digital Strategy
*Games for Good

This segment is a part in the series : Deal Radar 2008