Austin Developer Heatwave Raises $7.5m

Austin based developer Heatwave Interactive has announced it has received $7.5 million in investments from Syncom Venture Partners as it gears up to announce its first new and licensed titles it plans to bring to "multiple media channels." First announced in February 2007, the company was founded by veteran MMO designer and producer Anthony Castoro (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, ArchLord) and entrepreneur Donn Clendenon. At the time, Castoro distanced the company from 'just another MMO' developer' by saying the studio would "create original games that unite the power of online gaming with the excitement of traditional single-player video games.” The company has yet to announce any titles, but says it will in coming months, instead focusing the announcement on the company's "innovative business model designed to minimize the risks traditionally associated with developing new entertainment properties." Clendenon says that once internally-funded concepts make it through a rigorous evaluation process, "Heatwave raises development funds, partners with talented developers and leverages strategic relationships to bring our products to market. This model enables designers and artists to be creative and innovative while at the same time reducing the risk for investors, publishers and strategic partners.” "Games are a powerful platform for creating mainstream brands and IP, however the game industry is notorious for missed deadlines, excessive ‘crunch,’ and formulaic licensed games," he concluded. "Heatwave has taken lessons from game industry veterans as well as seasoned professionals from other media sectors to create a new model that is more disciplined and provides a more productive creative environment. The result is an entity that will generate successful new game IP that will easily crossover to other media formats.”