James Lee 15:27 (BST)
10/07/2008

Riot Games has secured USD 7 million in funding from Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital to finance development of its first, as yet unnamed, title.

In addition the company has named former EA, Activision and Jamdat exec Mitch Lasky - partner at Benchmark Capital - to the board.

"There's never been a better time for an online games company to succeed," he told GamesIndustry.biz. "It's one of the truly dynamic sectors of the games business. I believe that Riot is creating a unique offering for a unique customer.

"I believe the increasing expense and difficulty of creating product for the major consoles or for PCs has, ironically, actually opened up the business." he added. "Creative teams are migrating to the internet and to mobile in order to reach their audiences.

"New business models, like advertising, subscriptions, micro-payments, and the sale of virtual goods offer flexibility over the traditional retail model. A lot of value is going to be created that's not going to be controlled by the major publishers."

The developer's founders, Brandon Beck, CEO, and Marc Merrill, president and chief marketing officer, have brought together former members of the teams behind successful titles, such as Ultima Online, Dungeon Siege, Jak & Dexter, Heroes of Might & Magic, Neverwinter Nights 2 and Total Annihilation to work on the title.

The company will unveil the first details of their new project within the next few months.