Vainglory creator Super Evil Megacorp raises $26M for hardcore mobile gaming

Super Evil Megacorp, creator of hit touchscreen multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game Vainglory, has raised $26 million in funding. The funding is a big endorsement for Super Evil Megacorp’s plan to create hardcore esports games on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.

The new round was led by Index Ventures, with support from Russian investor Yuri Milner, Jim Breyer of Breyer Capital, and Korea Investment Partners. Existing investors who also participated include Signia Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Raine Ventures, Initial Capital, and Cross Cut.

Super Evil has also formed two new major partnerships with China’s Giant Interactive and Korea’s OnGamesNet (OGN), as the company works hard to pave the way for mobile esports to be truly mass market.

“Today, we’re announcing three major news items that all mark important steps forward on our journey of growing the global Vainglory community and Super Evil Megacorp as a company,” wrote Kristian Segerstrale, chief operating officer of Super Evil Megacorp, in a blog post.

Vainglory is also getting its own big tournament. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company announced the Vainglory International Premier League. Following on a successful first tournament in South Korea, Super Evil Megacorp has formed a partnership with OGN to form the league starting Aug. 16. It will gather teams from around the world for a $70,000 prize pool. That’s small compared to Valve’s just-completed Dota 2 International Championship, which had a prize pool of $18 million. But it’s a start.

In the partnership with Giant Interactive, Vainglory will soon be reaching gamers in China. Giant will work with Super Evil Megacorp to launch the game on iOS and Android later this year.

“While the $26 million number is pretty cool, fundraising is actually mostly not about the money, contrary to what people think,” Segerstrale said. “Fundraising is about choosing amazing partners to help you grow as a company. We couldn’t be more excited about the new expanded international team around Super Evil.”