Legionfarm Group raises $1.5 million to coach gamers to get better

Legionfarm Group has raised $1.5 million for its game services platform that uses esports pros to teach folks how to get better at playing games.

I’m probably in the target market for this kind of service, as I’m competitive in my mind, but I’m not a very good gamer. The money comes from TMT Investments, a venture capital company that invests in high-growth, internet-based companies.

Legionfarm acts as the integrator of paid services for game publishers, creating an entirely new revenue stream for both their platform and their partner publishers. For instance, Legionfarm’s service of coaching gamers could be integrated directly into a game, with revenue shared by multiple parties.

Above: Alexey Belyankin, CEO f Legionfarm Group

Image Credit: Legionfarm Group

The firm started in 2016 by CEO Alexey Belyankin and chief product officer Kirill Chuvakov as a business-to-consumer servicing and brokering platform for gamers needing assistance from professional players to further their gaming ambitions.

“Once in a rare while, your typical cynical VC runs into startups such as Legionfarm — not merely a good potential bet, what with all the growth basics and exit potential covered, but one that has a great chance to change the industry,” said Igor Shoifot, partner of TMT Investments, in an email. “Legionfarm changes the rules of the game (pun intended) as the platform brings gaming experts in touch with millions of potential game trainees, creating a virtual marketplace for aspiring Luke Skywalker types to find and hire virtual Yoda types for all kinds of plays.”

The services include coaching, training, and group playing which helps people master game content by hiring experts who can play with the customer and ultimately allow them to progress through the game. The San Francisco-based company has 72 employees globally.

Belyankin said in an email that the company’s revenues have gone from $100,000 a month to $800,000 a month. Revenues are currently growing about 30% to 50% a month.

“Our goal is to complete 50 integrations before 2021, three of which are triple-A games and part of this revenue that we plan to hit in 2021 are revenues from VR corporate learning,” Belyankin said.

Above: Legionfarm’s growth

Image Credit: Legionfarm

The platform continues to hire pro gamers in the virtual world by harnessing game publishers’ monetization model, with the aim of providing income to more than a million professional expert gamers by 2022.

“We have demonstrated that more and more people want to solve their problems in the virtual world with the help of paid assistance services,” said Belyankin. “It is a billion-dollar market for services, but we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg right now as we haven’t even begun the in-depth discussions on our plans for games and corporate learning in virtual reality.”

The new money will go for things such as integrating additional games and tests in VR, hiring new employees, testing new technologies, and some additional marketing. Belyankin said his company tries to be two to three times faster in completing orders than other rivals.