Bunch (www.bunch.live), the app that lets users play mobile games with friends over video chat, announced that it has closed $3.8 million in seed funding. The round was led by London Venture Partners, with participation from Founders Fund, Betaworks, Northzone, Streamlined Ventures, 500 Startups
Bunch is a mobile gaming platform that lets people group video chat before, during and after playing their favorite mobile games. Inspired by ‘LAN parties’ where gamers get together and play video games in the same room, Bunch delivers the same social gaming experience on smartphones and tablets—even when the players are physically apart.
A lot of us grew up playing PC games like Starcraft and Counterstrike with friends in the same room. Most of the fun in playing these games with friends comes from the ability to laugh together and trash talk during the games. With the rise of live mobile games like Fortnite and Roblox, younger gamers are trading in the large screens of their PCs and consoles for smartphones so they can play with their friends anytime, anywhere. We are building the chat application designed for them.
Selcuk Atli, co-founder and CEO at Bunch
With the Bunch app, users can invite their friends to a party, pick their favorite game, and launch into a gaming session with the tap of a button. The app supports live voice and video chat for up to eight players and lets users play popular mobile games like Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and HQ Trivia with their friends.
Bunch does not require any direct integrations to support mobile games like Fortnite and Roblox. However, it offers developers a richer and more integrated experience via the Bunch Presence SDK. The Bunch Presence SDK brings much of the Bunch experience directly into native mobile games. Spaceteam, the popular cooperative party game from developer Sleeping Beast Games, is the first game to integrate the Presence SDK. Bunch is already working on integrations with several other major game publishers and will be announcing these new partnerships in the coming months.