Maven leads £5.9 million funding round for XR Games

Maven has led a £5.9 million funding round for XR Games (XR), an award winning video game development studio based in Leeds which specialises in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) based games.

The transaction include a £1.1 million investment each from the Maven VCTs and NPIF Maven Equity Finance, as well further investments from existing investors Praetura Ventures and ACT Media Ventures.
This funding will support XR’s expansion as it moves to a brand-new studio in the centre of Leeds later this year. It will also enable the business to grow its team as it invests in intellectual property (IP), the development of new games, and research into VR and AR technologies.

XR supports an impressive range of partners and customers including Facebook, Microsoft, Sony Pictures, Sony PlayStation, and Unity, and has worked on a number of critically acclaimed games including the Angry Birds VR game that was launched alongside Angry Birds Movie 2.

Maven first backed the team at XR in August 2021 through NPIF Maven Equity Finance. The business has since tripled its headcount to more than 85 people and has experienced impressive growth driven by the success of its hit VR game 'Zombieland: Headshot Fever' which was licensed by Sony Pictures.

The video games industry, in terms of revenues, is four times larger than the movie industry and three times larger than the music industry, and the global XR (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality) market is forecast to reach $286 billion by 2025.

 “XR Games has achieved a number of great milestones in a short space of time and we are delighted to support the business at such an exciting stage in its growth journey. Immersive technology has huge potential in this industry and Bobby and the team’s experience, ambition and delivery in this niche has been instrumental in them developing such an impressive list of global clients and partners already. We look forward to working with the team and existing investors as they embark on a programme of rapid growth.”

Gavin Bell, Investment Director at Maven

 “We’re delighted with the investment from our new partners at Maven Capital Partners, and the continued support from Praetura Ventures and ACT Media Ventures. This latest investment will enable XR Games to continue to bring new innovations to the AR/VR sector over the next few years. Our new Leeds studio will allow us to continue to grow our team, and the number of projects we’re working on. And with the hundreds of applications we are receiving for each job vacancy, it’s clear there’s a growing appetite for this space. We’ll continue to push XR Games to the forefront of the new virtual reality revolution we are seeing in the creative industries.”

Bobby Thandi, Founder and CEO, XR Games