Gamelynx raises $1.2 million to make esports games on mobile (updated)

Gamelynx is creating team-based competitive games on mobile, so esports can become more accessible and global. And it has raised $1.2 million to accomplish this task.

The whole idea is to make mobile games for hardcore gamers, just as Tencent did when it created Arena of Valor, a multiplayer online battle arena game on mobile. Esports is expected to be a $1.65 billion business in 2021, according to market researcher Newzoo. But to get there, it will have to make some headway in mobile, which is half the global gaming market.

The company’s main investors include Y Combinator, Riot Games, Skycatcher Fund, and M Ventures. Other investors include Everblue Esports Ventures, Leaf Ventures, and Lyle Fong, co-founder of mobile games studio Hobo Labs, Lithium, and Gamers.com.

“As the line between mobile and PC/console continues to blur, the portability and accessibility of mobile creates an even brighter future for competitive gaming and esports,” said Alexander Mistakidis, CEO of Gamelynx, in an email to GamesBeat. “At the same time, it creates a desire for less of the same. Many have tried to build a mobile competitive multiplayer game, but very few have made a game that was differentiated from what was already available to watch or play on PC/console.”

Mistakidis said the company is leveraging cutting-edge networking technology to enable fast-paced competitive multiplayer gameplay on mobile that’s responsive and light on data use.

“We’re marrying that technology with applied psychology to design a new combination of gameplay and watching experience,” said Mistakidis, who previously was a developer for League of Legends at Riot Games.

He is joined by Carter Minshull, chief technology officer and a published physicist specializing in quantum cryptography hacking. The founders met at the University of Waterloo working as student leaders in the dorms where they shared a mutual love for entrepreneurship and gaming.

The Gamelynx team participated in Y Combinator for the summer 2017 batch, working with partners Michael Seibel (CEO of Y Combinator, cofounder of Justin.tv / Twitch and SocialCam) and Aaron Harris (co-founder of TutorSpree).

The team is hard at work building their competitive multiplayer game, with launch details coming later this year. They started in 2016 and have three employees.

Correction, 8:58 a.m.: Arena of Valor was originally written as Arena of Glory in this report. We have corrected the error and apologize.