The promising multiplayer arena mech shooter, Hawken has just received quite a windfall in the form of $10 million of funding from Meteor Entertainment, a pretty massive investment for a debut game of a small studio. VentureBeat indicate that Meteor is backed by Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital, the same investors that funded Riot Games' League of Legends.

LoL boasts one of the smartest free-to-play systems in the industry at the moment and Hawken devs, Adhesive Games, have already said that the mech shooter will get by on micro transactions that will "allow greater customization and more weapon variety." Venture Beat are hoping that Hawken can capture massive audiences in the same way as League of Legends, despite the difference in genre.

“You can disrupt the business with a free-to-play title," FirstMark Capital managing director told VentureBeat. "Gamers are willing to pay via virtual goods to do that. League of Legends is a fantastic title, but it is just one game and one genre that has blown up. We think it's possible to produce very high quality games that have huge audiences that are willing to pay."

“It's a phenomenon akin to other incumbent areas like music, TV, film, and newspapers, where the internet is disrupting both business models and consumption patterns. We have seen it happen again and again. The internet levels the playing field,” he added.

Hawken's chalked in for release on December 12, but there will be a few rounds of beta testing before then. You can sign up for a place in the beta and find out more about the game on the Hawken site .