Mentioned in this article Games: Super Smash Bros.

California based game developer Wavedash Games has secured $6m in Series A funding, saying they will use the capital to develop their upcoming ‘platform fighter’ game, similar to Super Smash Bros.

The investment was led by March Capital Partners, with six other venture capital firms also contributing.

Wavedash was founded in 2015 by developers from companies with strong esports pedigrees, like Riot, Blizzard, and EA. With the growing grassroots popularity of Super Smash Bros in recent years, the upcoming title from Wavedash is poised to be a popular one among fighting games fans.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Their game is yet to be titled, but will follow in League Of Legends footsteps by being free-to-play.[/perfectpullquote]

Their game is yet to be titled, but will follow in Riot Game’s League Of Legends footsteps by being free-to-play, with purchasable customisation options and new characters – a business model that earns Riot $150m a month according to reports. Previous attempts at free-to-play fighting games, such as Tekken Revolution, have been financially successful but garnered mixed reviews.

Matt Fairchild, Wavedash’s CEO and co-founder said:

“The Platform Fighter community is one of the most vibrant in gaming, but it has yet to reach its full potential. We’re following the trail blazed by Riot Games and Valve by bringing community passion together with world class developer talent.”

The game is currently only announced to be on the PC platform, moving away from the console market where fighting games like Super Smash Bros and Street Fighter have dominated. Wavedash hope to announce the game and show gameplay footage this summer.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Wavedash hope to announce the game and show gameplay footage this summer.[/perfectpullquote]

Fighting games have a long history in esports, but the genre’s current popularity and profitability pales in comparison to LoL or other tier-one esports. It’s argued that because fighting games are released in cycles, rather than as evolving games, their steep entry price and lack of frequent competitive balance is holding them back.