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Seattle-based video game developer Starform raised $6 million in a new funding round to continue work on its air combat game Metalstorm.
The new round of funding was led by BITKRAFT Ventures, with additional participation from Dune Ventures. This brings Starform’s total funding to over $13 million, following previous rounds in 2019 and 2021.
The new funding will be used for player outreach, to get more people playing Metalstorm, as well as to expand Starform’s development team, Starform said in a press release.
Starform also announced that Metalstorm has reached an audience of 3 million players across mobile and PC since its public debut last year. Currently available on Google Play, the Apple App Store, and the Epic Games Store, Metalstorm is a team-based 5v5 game where players fly various historically-inspired combat planes against one another. Each plane has its own unique abilities inspired by its real-world capabilities.
Metalstorm is currently scheduled for release on additional platforms in 2025, though Starform has not specified which ones.
“We believe in crafting short-session experiences that unite players across platforms,” said Lou Fasulo, CEO and co-founder of Starform, in a press release. “Metalstorm is all about facilitating connections—whether among friends or new acquaintances—through shared, thrilling gameplay that fits seamlessly into busy schedules.”
Starform was founded in 2018 by Fasulo, Taylor Daynes, Josh Rosen, and Jason English, all of whom formerly worked at the Seattle-based mobile studio Z2 before its acquisition by King in 2015.
Starform’s latest round fits into what’s become a modest upswing in VC funding for the games industry. After a sustained lean period over the last two years, total deal value in the space has risen for four consecutive quarters, as tracked by PitchBook. It suggests that investors are slowly moving back into the industry after the post-COVID bust, which saw a plummet in deal value and a sustained period of contraction.
