MMO Strategy Game eRepublik Lands $2.8 Million In Funding

Massively multiplayer online strategy game developer eRepublik Labs raised $2.8 million in funding for its first game, the free-to-play eRepublik - The New World, and other future titles. The Dublin, Ireland-based developer said Wednesday it raised the money in a series A funding round led by Paris, France's AGF Private Equity. Last year, the game maker raised $762,000 in funding, and in 2007 raised $277,000. eRepublik Labs said the funds would go towards further development of eRepublik, in which players engage in "local and national politics, set economic policy, start businesses and wage wars with other countries." eRepublik is a browser-based, free-to-play social game with no A.I., as it relies only on player input and interaction. The game has been live for over 500 days, and is continuing to evolve as development continues. eRepublik Labs said its game has over 350,000 "citizen accounts" and an active community of more than 120,000 people "who play frequently enough to keep their citizens alive and well." eRepublik chief Alexis Bonte said, “With the help of AGF Private Equity and Guillaume Lautour, whom I am delighted to welcome to our board, we will have the means to make our ideas, along with those gathered from our enthusiastic community, come true." eRepublik Labs just launched a Spanish version of eRepublik this month. In May, the company said its website received over 3.7 million visits and 95 million page views, with players spending 55 million minutes in the game. eRepublik also said the game only demands about 15 minutes per day from players, making it easy to fit into busy schedules.