Playdemic reels in $4M for its cross-platform gaming

The maker of Gourmet Ranch sees a bright future in offering its games on any device you choose

A UK-based developer of social games, Playdemic has just announced that it secured a $4 million round of funding. Notably, $3 million of that was from the Watson family — the grandchildren of IBM founder Thomas Watson. 

The company stated Tuesday that the new influx of funds will be used to develop its “second-generation social games.”

This concept allows Playdemic to offer its product across-platforms such as TVs, tablets, smartphones, the Web and Facebook. The company expect to release at  least four new games this year that will have this ability. 

While some people are very loyal to the vehicle they game on (some sticking to their desktop and others only finding time to game on their smartphone), many gamers are attracted to the diversity and mobile that current gaming is offering. Social gaming giant, Zynga, has been working hard to improve its diversity and mobility of games -- first launching its Zynga platform which lets people pick up on games where they left off on the Facebook version, and now the company is scrambling to better mobilize their games on smart devices and tablets.

Playdemic got its start on Facebook with titles such as Gourmet Ranch -- which now has 700,000 monthly active users. And, with roughly 10 million regular players across PC, web and mobile platforms, Playdemic is ready to leverage its strength. 

“Social games present an incredible opportunity for companies like Playdemic who understand that social is more than just one platform or destination,” Playdemic founder Paul Gouge said in a statement. “This funding not only validates where we believe we can take this business, but it gives us the vital resources to accelerate our roadmap and keep growing our community of Playdemic gamers. The future of social games has potential far beyond where we are today.”

As gaming companies struggle to keep players engaged and monetizing these activities, they have to compete with every new player on the block as well as the different constraints, partnership fees and other barriers per platform.

“While the barriers to entry may have risen when it comes to gaining traction via Facebook, smart companies realize that the potential for social games is only at its very beginning,” noted Watson in a statement. “Paul and the Playdemic team are definitely a company that understands this, and that’s why we are investing in them so they can hopefully realize their potential.”

Founded in 2010, Playdemic executive Gouge has taken his experience from founding Rockpool, a mobile games developer which created numerous hits based on major video game licenses to bring this company into a highly competitive and evolving space.