Developer and publisher Look North World has raised an additional $2.25 million in seed funding, bringing the total raised to $4.5 million.
The round was led by London Venture Partners, with participation from Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Fund, Overwolf, Crush Ventures, the venture arm of Crush Music, Hasbro, Pix Capital and Hibbard Road Partners.
The funding will support the development of original titles, of which the studio currently has 15 in development, and research into how games are created using user-generated content.
Look North World has already developed and published five games in Unreal Engine for Fortnite.
The publisher also announced the launch of its creator imprint, which will provide creators with artistic and technical support, a marketing budget, and long-term intellectual property.
Creators Austin 'TomJank' Rodriguez and Jon 'SightedSloth' Jungemann have been hired for the show.
“Investing in Look North World reinforces our belief that user-generated content is a key pillar for the future of gaming,” said Matt Bilbey of London Venture Partners.
“Alex and his team of veteran developers are pioneers, especially during previous waves of growth in console and mobile gaming. With Look North World, they continue to revolutionize the way games are created and published.”
Yoyo Yang, Head of Bandai Namco Entertainment’s o21 Fund, added: “Look North World is a great partner, as a company with a knowledge base in game creation and founders who have created blockbuster hits in traditional gaming now looking to apply their pedigree and vision to what the next generation of gamers want to play.”
Look North World was founded last year by EA, Bungie and Kongreate alumni Alex Seropian, Jay Pecho, Patrick Moran, Kyle Marks, Aaron Marroquin and Prashant Patil.