Ultizen Nets $6 Million To Expand Outsourcing Services

Game development and outsourcing company Ultizen Games scored $6 million funding to support the company's growth through acquisitions. The company's studio offers development services including game design, porting, programming and art, and Utilizen is also certified as an Xbox Live Arcade developer, with its first title launching on Xbox 360 in Fall 2008. The Series B funding round was led by Taiwan-based VC firm Pac-Link, with participation from Japan-based VC firm Japan Asia Investment Co. (JAIC) and online ad agency CyberAgent. Utilizen's series A in June of 2007 netted it $1.5 million from Shanghai and Boston-based Dragonvest Partners, and the funding helped it increase from 70 to 350 employees in its first year of operation. Pac-Link general partner Allen Hsu believes the outsourcing market opportunities for China will continue to grow alongside the advancement of the web-based casual games biz. Said Hsu, "As an early mover in this segment, we believe that Ultizen will become a dominant player and, moreover, have great potential to expand from a developer into an influential publishing and operating company in this segment.”