Xbox One matchmaking app Overdog nets $1.8 million in funding

Newsbrief: Console matchmaking app developer Overdog has netted $1.8 million in funding, VentureBeat reports, as it prepares to launch an Xbox One app that allows players to find each other via shared interests instead of random matchmaking. Investors include Atlas Venture and Chicago Ventures as well as Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus and Machinima founder Allen Debevoise. "If you love Game of Thrones, the San Fransisco 49ers, The Black Keys, and OpTic Gaming, we think those factors should help determine who you play with when you sit down for a game of Call of Duty," Overdog president Hunter Hillenmeyer -- a former NFL player -- told VentureBeat. The company has plans to develop a second matchmaking app for another platform (as yet unannounced) using its money. "We want to improve matchmaking for online gamers across all platforms, whether that's Xbox, PlayStation, mobile and tablet, or even some virtual reality ecosystem that has yet to materialize," Hillenmeyer said.