The funding, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, will initially be put to work building a world-class team to deliver a next-generation open-world game, anchored by an original IP, stories where player choices matter, and gameplay systems that bring players together rather than pushing them apart. The round was funded with the key support of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), plus additional seed funding from Bitkraft Ventures, Riot Games, 1Up Ventures, Don Thompson’s Cleveland Avenue, Michael D. Eisner’s Tornante Company, and other venture partners.
Believer’s leadership team includes veteran developers, producers, and visionaries responsible for seismic shifts in the video game medium. Former Riot Games Vice President Michael Chow will serve as CEO of Believer, inspiring the team with a love for player service cultivated as Executive Producer on League of Legends: Wild Rift and Co-Founder of Words with Friends developer Newtoy. Chow is joined by Chief Product Officer Steven Snow, a founding member of Riot Games who built the studio’s player-focused culture and executive-produced League of Legends to a meteoric rise and massive, long-term success.
“Players are the best audience to serve in the world. They’re noble, smart, discerning, and infinitely inventive,” said Chow. “We hold their investments of time, skill, and hard-earned money as sacred, and we will always put their needs first at every stage of Believer’s journey. We look forward to growing our team with people as passionate as we are and we are actively seeking like-minded talent to believe with us.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to begin this journey with Steven,” Chow added. “He’s a loving, stalwart champion of players—at times viciously protective of their best interests. There’s no better flag-bearer for what we're setting out to do.”
"The last few years have brought forward some very exciting technologies. In our world, where the player is the focus, our goal is to bring select technologies into the development and gameplay spaces explicitly for the betterment of our players and the games they love," Snow said. "Bringing free-to-play to North America and Europe with League of Legends really changed the landscape of how games as a service could work. It is our privilege to have the opportunity to help shape the future responsibly. And we are excited to say ‘no fucking thanks’ to the technologies that won't make the game more fun.”
Chow and Snow are joined by CTO Landon McDowell (Microsoft, Riot Games, Linden Lab), CCO Jeremy Vanhoozer (Bungie, Electronic Arts), COO Tim Hsu (Twitter, Riot Games), CMO Shankar Gupta-Harrison (Riot Games, Dentsu X), Director of Operations Grace Park (League of Legends: Wild Rift), and VP of Design Jeff Jew (League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra). Their founding motto—Credo In Ludos, or, “I believe in games”—underscores every team member’s personal commitment to making and playing games as a lifelong calling, and not merely a business. Believer is further supported by several strategic partners and advisors who have pushed the boundaries of popular culture, technology, and interactive art, including entertainment and media industry leader Michael D. Eisner, former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson, and Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott.
“Truly great content franchises are not built with a single media type—they need to resonate with their audience across games, film, television, collectibles, and real-world interactive experiences,” said Eisner. “The Believer Company gets that, and we at Tornante are excited to advise them as they bring their vision to life across every platform.”
“The team already assembled at Believer stands ready to change the industry through an unyielding devotion to players,” said Moritz Baier-Lentz, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, who is joining Believer's Board of Directors. “Forget preconceived notions about building, selling, and marketing franchises atop $70 entry fees and strictly authored, immovable stories. As a life-long player and 'believer' myself who’s followed and admired the studio’s founders' work for years, I know Michael, Snow, and their incredible team will make the next big thing by doing the right thing, at every turn. I’m inspired by their vision and honored to help make it possible.”
“When Michael, Snow, and their fellow founders at Believer speak about what’s next for video games, the industry stops and listens.” said Andrew Chen, General Partner at a16z. “Time and time again, through both innovative use of new technology and subversive design principles, they’ve defied convention and realized ambitions other developers hadn’t dreamed yet. We’re proud to join them at this moment in history and empower them to find the creativity in nascent technology.”
Game developers, prospective hires, and devotees of the player experience are invited to get in touch with Believer at believer.gg.