Ares Interactive’s “AI-enabled development, marketing, and live-ops” secures $70m in Series A Funding

Area Interactive has raised $70 million in a new Series A round to build “a new generation of player-loved franchises.”

The round, led by General Catalyst, is described by the company as “one of the largest early-stage investments in a game company in recent years and will support Area Interactive’s vision to build a next-generation, cross-platform, free-to-play game company.”

Area is led by a “veteran team” in San Francisco and Berlin and supported by an advisory board, using AI-enabled development, marketing, and live-ops workflows that “allow[s] their teams to iterate faster, scale content efficiently, and respond to player feedback in real time.”

Ares is currently working on Baseball Hits 26, a game “designed by baseball fans for baseball fans, featuring officially licensed professional baseball players,” and previously released the roguelike RPG Heroes vs Hordes, which has surpassed 13 million installs.

“This round validates our vision, our approach, and the team behind it,” said Ares Interactive president, Mike DeLaet.

“Ares Interactive brings together rare operating experience and the discipline to build for the long term, as our leadership team has a long history of developing, scaling, and operating hit free-to-play games for some of the most successful publishers in the industry.

“In a market where many companies are pulling back, this financing gives us the ability to lean in, grow thoughtfully with exceptional partners, and invest in building games we have always wanted to make, creating experiences and communities that will keep players coming back for years to come.”