Significant investment for Realtime Games Limited

British online games studio Realtime Games Limited has reportedly announced that it has closed an initial funding round and now has approximately £600,000 ($800,400) to help further develop its unique Ultimate Fan Live real-time mobile fantasy football app.

According to a report from G3Newswire, Realtime Games Limited revealed that the cash came from venture capital enterprise Mercia Fund Managers in addition to an unnamed mobile games developer and would allow it to expand its team and increase its marketing activities in the run-up to next summer’s 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Established in 2013 by entrepreneur Sohail Godall, London-based Realtime Games Limited reportedly explained that the new cash would also allow it to further develop its platform in advance of premiering similar free-play fantasy games in the future.

G3Newswire reported that Ultimate Fan Live, which launched last year and now has over one million users across the world, allows soccer fans to simultaneously connect to live matches with players’ actual actions mirrored in the game.

Godall reportedly described the funding as ‘milestone’ that would serve as a ‘testament to the hard work our team has put in’ and allow his company to ‘build upon our core game technology, scaling up for the World Cup and beyond’.

“We’re very excited to be working with our funders to reshape the way millennial fans around the world consume live sport,” Godall reportedly told G3Newswire.

For his part, Mike Hayes, Digital and Digital Entertainment Head for Mercia Fund Managers, reportedly depicted Ultimate Fan Live as ‘unique in the market’ and ‘ideal for the casual fan’ as it is the first such fantasy app to combined actual games with ‘short-play experiences’.

“Realtime Games [Limited] has not only built a popular soccer app with a loyal fan base but it has also created a platform that could be applied across a much wider range of sports,” Hayes reportedly told G3Newswire.