megamoda massively multiplayer gaming company, has raised $1.9 million to develop its user-generated content platform.
The company raised the money at a post-money valuation of $27 million. The funds will be used to support the company’s go-to-market strategy, including testing a retention and monetization model.
The round was led by investors and funds with deep backgrounds in business and entrepreneurship including Xsolla founder Alexander Agapetov and his family fund Hand of MidasBeside Rubelite box and other private investors.
Megamod is a UGC platform designed for creators with limited development experience and players looking for large-scale multiplayer experiences.
Lil Snack and Beat Games
GamesBeat is excited to partner with Lil Snack to make games just for our fans! As gamers, we know this is an exciting way to engage in gameplay with GamesBeat content you’ve already loved. Start playing games now!
Megamod, which launched in early 2023 to make game design tools easier to use, has proven its ability to create games 200 to 300 times more cost-effectively and faster than a traditional development company, the company said.
Generally, the platform pays the content creator $5 per content unit. Over the past six months, Megamod has connected with more than 2,000 creators who have created more than 50,000 games.
In a world where games have become abundant, the main challenge facing publishers is to keep players engaged by providing them with engaging and accessible content. Megamod shows its ability to meet this challenge, as evidenced by its listing on popular gaming portals such as Y8 and CrazyGames.
In just two weeks on CrazyGames, Megamod games have received a rating of 8.8 based on over 21,000 reviews and have been enjoyed by over 340,000 players.
Game availability is also ensured by the Megamod (MegaBit) app that focuses on game retention and social interaction. Megamod’s multiplayer capabilities allow thousands of players to interact and spend time together.
The platform offers cross-play across web and mobile, which has already resonated with hundreds of streamers who have drawn prizes and played game shorts (snippets of the game with a 30-second time limit), alongside their fans.
The company said that too often in the gaming industry, the role of the creator is forgotten. Games are often viewed as a product of a company rather than a reflection of the creator’s vision. Megamod aims to change this by showcasing the creators of each game individually and showing that in the age of AI and simplified tools, a finished product can be released in a matter of hours, not months or years.
Megamod was founded by serial entrepreneurs with over 20 years of experience:
Dmitry Semeryashko, one of the founders of Clowder, has created more than 100 social networks for businesses. He also led a user-generated content project for entertainment, birthday cards and more, reaching 80 million people, making it the largest of its kind in the early days of social media. Being a true technology enthusiast, Semiriazhko focuses on product and technology vision.
Alexey Kostarev, known as I-Jet Studio, posted the Happy Farmer game on social networks, which attracted millions of viewers. With his expertise in game development and experience building companies with sales in excess of $20 million, Kostarev focuses on Megamod’s marketing, business and investor relations vision.
The team includes more than 20 people from diverse backgrounds, including game development, multinational IT companies and publishing companies, Kostarev said in an email to GamesBeat.
For user-generated content, Megamod said it has simplified all development tools and made them more accessible to everyone. The company offered Voxel editors to create gaming experiences without any knowledge of code or any technical nuances. With the help of artificial intelligence, you can simply dictate commands in any language.
“Just say the necessary words, and our engine will program the game objects. Magic,” said Kostarev.
Game assets are small in size, from 28KB to 110KB. He said Megamod is available to everyone, whether they have good or bad internet. In emerging markets there is no Roblox because the games are heavy and asset-heavy.
“We are on the path of simplification, and we are very happy that our competitors are moving to ultra-realistic graphics. The niche is being liberated,” said Kostarev.
Megamod also makes gaming social in a new way. Megamod’s multiplayer capabilities allow thousands of players to spend time together. The platform offers online and mobile play, which has already resonated with hundreds of streamers who have drawn prizes and played gaming shorts (snippets of games with a 30-second time limit), along with their audience, Semiriazhko.
Authenticity is important, Smeryashko said.
“When we released our first 8 games on CrazyGames, our games were in the New Games section and started getting a lot of positive reviews. This put the game on the front page, and we had 350,000 users. It was just the first 8 games, and we already had 60 thousand of them.
He added: “Our brains have a very sophisticated authentication mechanism. It was important for survival, so the verification mechanism is always evolving. People read that the games are real, and that they are made by humans, which is why we have an 8.8 rating on CrazyGames. Our content is unique and original. It’s made by the new generation of game designers. This is something you don’t find in Roblox or Fortnite.
He said Megamod has brought together fans who have become a community of game developers, and he believes these developers will make great games.