New games development studio Barnyard Games has raised $3.4 million to make games with Unreal Engine for Fortnite.
The round was led by Menlo Ventures with further support from BetaWorks, Alumni Ventures and Charge VC, as well as angels Eden Chen and Nate Mitchell.
Barnyard is spearheaded by head of creative vision (and Borderlands creator) Matthew Armstrong together with CEO John Blakely (formerly of Zynga), head of product and technology Mark Cieslar and COO Christopher Sturr.
Get golfing
Barnyard’s catalogue already consists of TacoTime, Driftboard Gun Game, VolcanicRails and more on Fortnite, with each release playable as an ‘island’ in the platform’s Discover mode.
Its latest release is nine-hole arcade-style golf game Mega Golf Fun Zone, also released on Fortnite.
“UEFN is an array of untapped and exciting possibilities; a relatively unexplored landscape that allows us to experiment while also giving players a central role in shaping their virtual worlds,” said CEO John Blakely.
“We’re excited to see how gamers resonate with Barnyard’s fun and quirky style of game-making, and we’ll continue to iterate with our players as we learn more about what delivers uniquely amusing game experiences and cultivates strong social connections.”
The investment in Barnyard also marks Menlo Ventures partner Amy Wu’s first investment in gaming.
“The Barnyard team has both a successful track record of building franchises from zero to one and scaling games,” said Wu.
“That combined with our excitement about the future of UEFN is why we’re thrilled to partner with John, Matthew, and the team.”
