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XWhy Cirque du Soleil Tapped LA Game Maker Gamefam for its First Virtual World
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
After almost 40 years since its founding, Canadian entertainment powerhouse Cirque du Soleil is embracing the metaverse.
The circus tapped Los Angeles-based Gamefam, which develops custom games for brands. Called “Cirque du Soleil Tycoon,” the game will come out this summer on Roblox— a sandbox-type title that allows players to create a number of public and private virtual worlds.
GameFam launched in 2019 and has created 30 custom games for brands eager to explore the metaverse as a way to reach more diverse audiences, including the BBC, Mattel, the NFL, Puma and Samsung. In addition to creating games in Roblox, it also has made custom programs for “Fortnite” and “Minecraft.”
Sébastien Ouimet, Head of Filmed & Immersive Entertainment for Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, told dot.LA he felt the circus – which celebrates its 40th anniversary next June – could use a digital boost. “The idea was to bring a brand new perspective on our creative universe,” Ouimet told dot.LA. He added that “we can offer such an access to our fans that we cannot necessarily offer in the real world,” including virtual backstage passes, and behind-the-scenes looks at how the troupe trains, designs costumes and makeup.
“Cirque du Soleil Tycoon” is based on the troupe’s newest acrobatics show, “ECHO,” which is themed around the balance between nature and technology. Renderings of the game show a bright, cartoon-ish world. Players can make custom parks and big tops, choreograph their own shows and “hire” artists in-game to bring their shows to life. There’s also a suite of mini-games themed around the circus.
“It's important for us that when we transpose our creative DNA of ‘ECHO’ or Cirque du Soleil the mother brand, that we do it in a way where we just don't duplicate our creative DNA, we transform it, we adapt and change it,” Ouimet said. “[Our creativity] embraces everything that platforms such as Roblox have to have to offer.”
Cirque du Soleil does have nearly a million subscribers on YouTube, and while much of that behind-the-scenes content is perfect for a YouTube video, Ouimet said he’s keen for fans to experience the show in a more immersive way through the upcoming game – especially the people who might not have the funds to shell out for tickets or a show in Vegas. Ouimet added that he’s aware the audience for Roblox skews younger than the average Cirque du Soleil ticket buyer, but added that he hopes the game appeals to a wider audience of varying ages.
Recruiting a new audience is important to the circus’ longevity – though it’s unclear if the metaverse bet will pay off in dividends. In June 2020, Cirque du Soleil entertainment group laid off 3,500 people and filed for bankruptcy protection, citing mounting debt that piled up as a result of the coronavirus pandemic forcing it to cancel shows. By November 2020 Catalyst Capital Group bought the business for an undisclosed sum.
“What we're doing in the immersive space actually adds value to our live stage experiences,” Ouimet said. Going beyond the big top is key, Ouimet said. “For us, bridging the physical and digital world is quite important in terms of how we define success,” he added.
Gamefam chief business officer Ricardo Briceno wouldn’t disclose how much Cirque du Soleil paid the company to make the game. But, he said Cirque du Soleil actually reached out directly to Roblox first, which made the introduction.
In February, Gamefam partnered with another household name – the NFL – to create a similar game in Roblox called “Super NFL Tycoon.” The game has nearly 10 million visits to date and lets players create their own simulated NFL franchise, and was sponsored by Intuit. Around the same time, Gamefam launched what Briceno called “the first Super Bowl concert on Roblox,” where Warner Music rapper Saweetie performed a free virtual concert.
Last March, Gamefam raised a $25 million Series A to develop more in-game worlds for brands. Briceno said on average, there’s 12 million players around the world engaging with Gamefam’s content daily. He also noted that on a monthly basis, Gamefam players spend a combined 96 hours – four straight days – in its custom-made games.
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Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
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LA Tech ‘Moves’: LeaseLock, Visgenx, PlayVS and Pressed Juicery Gains New CEOs
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.
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LeaseLock, a lease insurance and financial technology provider for the rental housing industry named Janine Steiner Jovanovic as chief executive officer. Prior to this role, Steiner Jovanovic served as the former EVP of Asset Optimization at RealPage.
Esports platform PlayVS hired EverFi co-founder and seasoned business leader Jon Chapman as the company’s chief executive officer.
Biotechnology company Visgenx appointed William Pedranti, J.D. as chief executive officer. Before joining, Mr. Pedranti was a partner with PENG Life Science Ventures.
Pressed Juicery, the leading cold-pressed juice and functional wellness brand welcomed Justin Nedelman as chief executive officer. His prior roles include chief real estate officer of FAT Brands Inc. and co-founder of Eureka! Restaurant Group.
Michael G. Vicari joined liquid biopsy company Nucleix as chief commercial officer. Vicari served as senior vice president of Sales at GRAIL, Inc.
Full-service performance marketing agency Allied Global Marketing promoted Erin Corbett to executive vice president of global partnership and marketing. Prior to joining Allied, Corbett's experience included senior marketing roles at Disney, Warner Bros. Studios, Harrah's Entertainment and Imagi Animation Studios.
Nuvve, a vehicle-to-grid technology company tapped student transportation and automotive sales and marketing executive David Bercik to lead the K-12 student transportation division.
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
This Week in ‘Raises’: Curri Scoops Up $42M, Mosaic Scores $26M
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
A local logistics platform raised fresh funding to put toward product development, infrastructure and sales and marketing initiatives, while a San Diego-based fintech company closed its Series C funding round to expand its investment in AI which will empower high-growth SMB and mid-market finance leaders.
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Venture Capital
Curri, a Ventura-based logistics platform, raised a $42 million Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
San Diego-based financial platform Mosaic raised a $26 million Series C funding round led by OMERS Ventures.
AHARA, a Los Angeles-based startup focused on providing personalized nutrition suggestions, raised a $10.25 million seed funding round led by Greycroft.
Per an SEC filing, San Diego-based developer of peptide therapeutics designed to assist in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and disorders selectIon raised $5 million in funding.
Miscellaneous
Los Angeles-based Sensydia, a company working on non-invasive cardiac diagnostics, said this morning that it has received $3 million in a NIH grant.
Raises is dot.LA’s weekly feature highlighting venture capital funding news across Southern California’s tech and startup ecosystem. Please send fundraising news to Decerry Donato (decerrydonato@dot.la).
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
Why a Downturn in Esports Investments Isn’t Something To Fear
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
Last year, global venture capital investment in esports dropped by more than 40%. Investors have been rapidly selling off teams and franchises, and the industry has witnessed a consistent decline in ad spend. This has prompted many critics to coin the term “esports winter,” referring to a fall-off in the industry, an indication that VCs believe their investments didn’t achieve success as expected.
A recent article in The New York Times highlighted two major esports leagues that recently divested from their teams: Madison Square Garden sold its team CounterLogic Gaming to NRG in April, while Team SoloMid sold its League of Legends Championship Series team in late May.
Arguing that the industry still has potential for growth, several gaming executives at a LA Tech Week panel said that instead of an “esports winter,” the industry was experiencing a period of “normalization.” The panel at SoHo House in West Hollywood featured Brian Anderson, CEO of Culver City-based esports outfit FlyQuest Sport, Gene Chorba, head of developer relations at Roku and Felix LaHaye, founder of United Esports.
“I'm actually very skeptical of the claim of an esports winter,” Anderson said. “I think that what I'm seeing in the market right now, ultimately, is just a lot of venture capital firms that deployed capital into the eSports space that are not generating the returns that they were looking for, and have now done the press junket and are labeling it an esports winter.”
“In reality,” Anderson said, “esports, in my view, is alive and well.”
Anderson said there were a lot of “unrealistic expectations” around esports since it became popular in 2016, and the current decline was a sign that the market was correcting itself. “This is a necessary pain point that any nascent industry is going to go through as it matures and develops, and I think that in, let's say, 24 months, 36 months, esports will be in a much better financially sustainable place,” he said.
“I think we're having a little bit of a normalization,” Chorba said. “We saw the entire economy was being shot to the moon, with nothing behind it… we were seeing valuations of companies, public and private, that just didn't make sense for what they were building.”
Other tech industries have experienced a similar “normalization” in recent years. Cryptocurrencies, NFTs and big tech have all seen a downturn in recent months after being flooded with VC interest for many years.
According to the panelists, the existing viewer base for esports was a clear sign that the industry still had potential for growth. “There's still a ton of attention on professional video games. There's still so much grassroots fan support,” Anderson said. “As long as organizations and developers are able to figure out how to actually monetize that fan base, I think esports is still alive and well and here to stay for a long time.”
According to Insider Intelligence in 2022, there were 532 million esports viewers globally, with nearly 30 million viewers in the U.S.; this is expected to increase to 34.8 million by 2026.
Chorba explained that the reduction in ad spend and brand deals in esports shouldn’t worry investors because these crucial revenue streams have slowed down for other industries as well. “Ad-supported is hemorrhaging money and really just trying to wait out what's really a bad economy right now,” he said. As more people stop paying for cable, Chorba said, eyeballs will move onto streaming sites like YouTube or Twitch to watch gaming content.
LaHaye and Chorba said that one of the reasons for the decline in esports investments could be that executives and VCs are running esports companies like tech or SaaS companies. “As a matter of fact, they are not tech companies. They are ad-supported entertainment products,” LaHaye said.
By taking their companies to IPOs too early, certain esports companies ruined their chances in the market, LaHaye added. “There's also a downswing that's done by a rush to [go] public,” he said. “There are some fairly poor business models in esports that are going through a rougher time.”
“[Game publishing] is a hit-making business,” LaHaye said. “I think there tends to be confusion between what is a fundamental issue for the esports industry itself and some business models within the esports industry being bad business.”
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Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.