Chinese outsourcing firm gets $1.5m funding

Shanghai-based Ultizen Games has raised $1.5m in series A funding in a bid to expand its international reach and its game development studio in China.

Ultizen’s 150-strong operation in China provides a variety of outsourcing services including design, porting, programming and testing, art and sound FX, localisation and asset creation to North American, European and Japanese devs. The company is currently designing its first Xbox game and plans to offer a mobile games development service next year.

Casual games are also an interest for the studio – it operates its own casual game platform, U-Pal, used on some Chinese websites.

The money from investor Dragonvest will be used to bolster the firm’s international activity and expand its Shanghai studio. Dragonvest Partners co-founder and co-managing general partner Jesse Parker will join Ultizen’s board of directors to assist the company in launching its service across China.

"Dragonvest Partners is not simply an investor—it’s a partner that recognizes our intrinsic value to the game development ecosystem,” said Ultizen Games CEO Mr. Lan Haiwen. “We look forward to their continued assistance in developing new directions and new opportunities for Ultizen Games.”

“Ultizen is the perfect example of the next generation of Chinese entrepreneurs combining deep local market knowledge with a sophisticated understanding of global markets. We are very pleased to welcome them into the Dragonvest family,” said Parker.