THE NEWS MEDIA
Dreamworks Universe of Legends: Where Shrek meets Kung-Fu Panda and dragons2017-11-02
Above: DreamWorks Universe of Legends
Firefly Games is unveiling DreamWorks Universe of Legends, which brings a number of entertainment franchises into a single mobile game. Now you can play with DreamWorks characters from Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and more.
Los Angeles-based Firefly Games and entertainment company Riva Group have created an action role-playing game with more than 40 heroes and villains from DreamWorks animated films. It is available on iOS and Android.
Above: You can play with 40 heroes and villains in DreamWorks Universe of Legends.
“DreamWorks properties have touched the hearts and minds of millions of fans around the world,” said Paul Riva, the chairman of the Riva Group, in a statement. “Firefly Games – with their ability to reach a truly global audience with their presence in the U.S. and China makes for the perfect partner to create and share this unified DreamWorks gaming experience.”
The development studio designed DreamWorks Universe of Legends with Western and Eastern markets in mind. The combination of iconic DreamWorks characters could be appealing on a global basis, the companies believe.
“We are truly honored to have the opportunity to bring multiple worlds of DreamWorks into one grand and unique adventure,” said Michael Zhang, CEO of Firefly Games, in a statement. “We’re eager to bring exciting new content to DreamWorks fans and gamers alike.”
The game has familiar DreamWorks worlds, such as the Valley of Peace from Kung Fu Panda, the Isle of Berk from How to Train Your Dragon, the Swamp from Shrek. The movies represented in the game include Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, Madagascar, The Croods, Penguins of Madagascar, Megamind,
Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Rise of the Guardians, Turbo, Monsters vs Aliens, Bee Movie,and Shark Tale.
Above: DreamWorks Universe of Legends is an action RPG.
It has a real-time tactical party-based combat, upgradable gear, and dynamic skills. It has both single-player and player-versus-player modes.
And it features DreamWorks Hideaway, a hub with a customizable base where players can find new quests, level-up their legends, manage resources, and chat with other players.
Firefly Games was founded in January 2015 by Zhang and KJ Lin. Its previous games included Rush of Heroes and Dungeon Crash. The Riva Group is a design and development studio with offices around the world.
Firefly has 35 employees, including 20 in Los Angeles. It has raised $18 million in two rounds, it was valued at more than $100 million in its most recent round. Its focus is on creating mid-core games, or those that are hardcore in nature with short play sessions for mobile devices.
The Riva Group is an entertainment company that has worked with a variety of studios on location-based entertainment parks, game licensing, VR, and other media.
Read the original article: https://venturebeat.com/2017/10/26/firefly-games-launches-dreamworks-universe-of-legends-mobile-game/
Watch Out! Firefly is among the Best Startups to Work for in LA2017-11-01
10 Best Startups to Work For in Los Angeles--Zippia
Today, Los Angeles is one of the biggest cities in America. But with all the new tech companies cropping up every day, it begs the question: which companies are the best for employees to work for?
We were curious — so, using company scores from websites that aggregate reviews like GlassDoor and Indeed as a baseline, we created our own list of some of the best companies to work for that were based within a 30-mile commute of Los Angeles, CA.
Firefly Games
Company Description: A video game company with a focus on mobile gaming, Firefly Games focuses on play engagement to help them shape their products and build communities around their games. Employees enjoy the freedom to take on different roles and the company’s willingness to train new employees as being some of the best reasons to work for the company.
For the full list: https://www.zippia.com/advice/best-startups-to-work-for-in-los-angeles/
50 LA startups to watch in 2017--BuiltinLA
2016 was undoubtedly a great year for the LA tech community. As it becomes clear to the rest of the world that Los Angeles is no longer just a hub for entertainment, the amount of tech talent and new companies popping up in the area means 2017 will be just as big.
Built In LA has carefully selected 50 young companies (all less than five years old) that we believe will make a big splash over the next 12 months.
Firefly Games
Since its inception in 2014 by graduates of some of LA’s finest universities, Firefly Games has become a gateway between the US and some of Asia’s most popular gaming titles. But with the $10 million round of funding the company received in August, it’s clear the Hollywood-based startup has its eyes set on a new frontier: developing their own games. With the influx of cash, the company created a development team to begin work on a mobile game based on a major Hollywood intellectual property.
For the full list:
http://www.builtinla.com/2017/01/09/50-la-startups-watch-2017
Firefly Games raises $10M to make Hollywood-based mobile games2016-08-12
Mobile game publisher Firefly Games has raised $10 million in a second round of funding to expand its efforts to make games based on Hollywood intellectual properties. The company said the round places Firefly’s valuation at $100 million.
Leading the round in the Los Angeles startup was China Construction Bank International Holdings, an arm of one of the big four banks in China. China Credit Limited Holdings also invested. Mobile gaming has become a $36 billion market globally, according to market researcher Newzoo. But fundings are increasingly rare for mobile game companies because of the cutthroat competition and dominance of bigger firms.
Firefly Games was founded in early 2015 by veteran game entrepreneurs Michael Zhang and Justin K.J. Lin as a business aimed at bridging East and West in mobile games. The company has a subsidiary in Shanghai, and it previously raised $8 million from Skyocean International Holdings, Ceyuan Ventures, and GuangZhou WinHi.
Above: Michael Zhang, CEO of Firefly Games
The company has spent some time developing a publishing infrastructure and bringing high-potential mobile titles from Asia to the West. Previous titles include Rush of Heroes, formerly known as I am MT2 in China and Dungeon Crash. The company intends to publish additional titles moving into 2017 and scale their executive management and staff on both sides of the Pacific to meet their projected goals.
“We see an expansion opportunity to diversify and leverage our current strengths into Hollywood IP, VR, and e-sports,” said Zhang, in a statement.
Firefly has already formed their first development team to begin production on a mobile game based on a major Hollywood intellectual property.
Outside of mobile, Firefly is looking to form a China-based VR publishing arm, bringing the best of VR content around the world to the East, while also continuing development on their esports social streaming app.
Joining the board of directors are members of CCB International, China Credit, Firefly Games’ Chief Strategy Officer Justin K.J. Lin, and Firefly China CEO Qinyan Hu. The company has 35 employees.
Firefly Games raises $8M to bring top Asian mobile games to the West 
Firefly Games wants to bridge the East West cultural divide. The Los Angeles startup is announcing today it has raised $8 million to bring top-grossing mobile games from Asia to the West..
That’s a large amount of money for a company that was founded last month by veteran game entrepreneurs Michael Zhang and KJ Lin. The move is part of a plan to identify another billion-dollar opportunity in mobile games, which is expected to be a $30 billion market in 2015.
Chinese investment firms Skyocean International Holdings, Ceyuan Ventures, and GuangZhou WinHi led the first round of funding.
Firefly said it plans to release four titles this year, and it has partnered with top Asian mobile game developers to distribute top grossing Asian titles to the Western markets. Firefly hopes it will create bigger hits by combining the best of the East and West, such as innovative game design, proven Western event systems (tournaments), and AAA content.
“We plan to bring a revolutionary approach to the way games are released that goes far beyond the standard localization currently seen in the App Stores.” said Michael Zhang, cofounder and CEO of Firefly Games, in a statement. “Furthermore, we will also develop a business intelligence vertical within our company to evaluate highly granular data points and continually improve our live operations.”
One of the titles that Firefly will publish in the West is Rising Heroes,a tactical strategy role-playing game which will debut in April. The game was created by China’s 4Inch. Firefly will also soon announce a licensing deal to publish games from a star developer in China.
The company will use the funding to acquire new titles, finance internal game development, and make strategic investments worldwide. Johnson Zhen, chief investment officer of Skyocean, said in a statement, “The mobile space is still in its infancy and Firefly Games is working to become one of the leading North American publishing companies for worldwide games.”
Firefly Games has 30 employees in Los Angeles and its Shanghai office.
“We expect there will be several billion dollar mobile game publishing companies and Firefly is definitely one with great potential!” said Guojun Chen, Partner of Ceyuan Ventures.
Zhang was formerly CEO of mobile game publisher ZQGame US, while Lin was vice president of operations there. They both left last October.
Rivals include all of the big Western game publishers like Zynga and Machine Zone. But companies that take Eastern style games and publish them in the west include Com2Us, Ucool, and Kabam.
