Gaming Network Playfire Raises $2.1M From Atomico, Atari's Gardner, Others

Playfire, a multiplatform gaming social network, has raised $2.1 million from several gaming and tech notables, including investment firm Atomico Ventures and Atari CEO David Gardner. The site allows gamers to register the titles they own for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, or other platforms, and interact with other gamers. It was founded in 2007 by Kieran O'Neill, a self-described "serial web entrepreneur" who sold the online video HolyLemon.com that same year, and also co-founded the platform-specific site PlayStation Universe. Atomico Ventures was co-founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the creators of successful web services Skype, Joost, and Kazaa. Gardner has been the CEO of publisher Atari since 2008. Prior to that, he served in various executive roles at Electronic Arts, where he worked for over 25 years. More recently, he has been involved in his own investment activities, including participating in the latest funding round conducted by Unity engine developer Unity Technologies. According to Playfire's official site, the service is in beta and tallies 245,000 users and 40,000 games. Interestingly, it seems to be disproportionately populated by PlayStation 3 gamers, likely a partial product of its co-founder's PlayStation Universe site as well as Playfish's proprietary PlayStation Network "Trophycard" widget.