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The guys behind Dots raised $10 million to build the next great mobile game studio

The guys behind Dots raised $10 million to build the next great mobile game studio

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'It's a big ambition.'

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Dots — the studio behind, you guessed it, the Dots series of mobile games — has just raised $10 million in order to become a standalone mobile gaming company.

The studio began life as an offshoot of New York-based startup incubator Betaworks, and with the new cash, which comes from several investors including Chinese internet giant Tencent, Dots is going solo in hopes of building on the massive success of its mobile games. "The first Dots game started as me just building a game that I wanted to play," says studio co-founder and COO Patrick Moberg. "[CEO Paul Murphy] and Betaworks nudged me to think bigger." The first Dots launched last year, followed by TwoDots in May, and according to the studio the franchise has reach a combined 45 million players.

"We'll be exploring all sorts of new directions."

The studio hasn't revealed any details about upcoming projects, but says that it will remain a "mobile-first" game developer. To date, its games have been available across both iOS and Android. "We have ambitions to be one of the world's best mobile game studios. It's a big ambition," Moberg tells The Verge, "and Betaworks wants to ensure we have the setup to let that happen."

According to Moberg, the studio has spent the past year expanding its size and learning more about the games industry, which he says puts Dots in a good position to "take big risks" with its new games, which are expected to be announced next year.

"We'll be exploring all sorts of new directions in gameplay and aesthetics," he says.