Mercia Fund Management (Mercia), a leading investment business in UK innovation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercia Technologies PLC, has committed £150,000 in seed funding to GENBA Digital Ltd, a fully-automated, cloud-based digital logistics platform that bridges the gap between publishers and resellers in the gaming industry.
GENBA, which translates from Japanese as “the real place”, provides a “one-stop shop” for digital gaming publishers and retailers, by eliminating the operational and technical logistics involved with the publication and selling of digital content.
Through a fully-automated system, GENBA Digital uploads gaming collateral, including official publisher metadata, activation key and videos, to a central hub, and then securely releases this package to the retailer. GENBA Digital is able to provide detailed analytics on game downloads (including pre-order sales), whilst also giving content owners peace of mind that content is being distributed correctly through their trusted etailer network.
The gaming industry is currently creaking at the joints and faces a logistical burden, not only due to the increasing volume of content, but also due to security concerns and spiralling operational costs. GENBA Digital provides an efficient and convenient solution to these problems, and will become more vital as the shopping habits of gamers change, with more choosing to download new content direct from their PC.
The investment was led by Mike Hayes, Mercia’s Head of Digital Entertainment and the former CEO of SEGA for Europe and America. With over 23 years of experience in interactive businesses, Mike will be supporting GENBA Digital as it continues its growth journey.
Mercia’s investment will allow GENBA to build its team, which currently numbers three, and solidify relationships with key, multi-national partners within the gaming industry.
Mike Hayes, Investment Director and Head of Digital Entertainment at Mercia, said:
“I am very pleased to lead the investment into GENBA Digital, an innovative company run by several successful and well-respected veterans of the games industry. GENBA Digital is an exciting prospect within the growing digital entertainment distribution market and is well-placed to take advantage of the changes and the need for rationalisation in the global PC market. It is therefore a strong proposition for Mercia to invest in.”
Claire Ralley, Acting CEO of GENBA Digital Ltd, said:
“We are delighted to receive investment from Mercia, which has a strong track record of investing in and supporting digital entertainment businesses. “GENBA Digital’s unique offering will support both publishers and retailers with the cost and security issues associated with selling large amounts of digital content, and we are already receiving interest from some big players within the industry.”