Top 10 mobile gaming investors in 2025

Mobile gaming fundraising is different from PC or console. Most VCs look at your day-1 retention and LTV/CAC within 5 minutes of opening your deck. They don't care about your story or art style if your unit economics don't work.

The funds listed here have all backed mobile studios and understand why a $2 CPI can be good or terrible depending on your genre.

Quick list

Finding the right backer

Find investors who've backed mobile studios that survived past their first game. Most studios die after launch because VCs don't understand that your second game needs funding before the first one peaks. Ask portfolio companies if their investor understood when to pivot versus when to double down on updates.

Past investments: Check if they've funded studios that launched multiple titles. One hit wonders don't prove they understand the business.

Platform connections: See if they can intro you to Apple's App Store team or Google Play. Those relationships matter when you're trying to get featured.

Genre fit: Seed investors who backed hypercasual studios won't understand your midcore RPG's 12-month development cycle.

Follow-on history: Look at whether their portfolio studios got Series B funding. Studios that couldn't raise again are a warning sign.

Tracking engagement: Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your retention curves versus just looking at the team slide.

Real support: Ask what they did when portfolio studios missed their revenue targets. Vague answers about "strategic pivots" mean they weren't helpful.

How to reach them

Check Pitchbook for which funds led rounds in your genre recently. A VC that backs puzzle games probably won't lead your battle royale round no matter how good your metrics are.

Find active funds: Look for 2024-2025 mobile gaming deals on Crunchbase. Most gaming VCs are in SF, LA, Seoul, or Shenzhen.

Build your pitch: Show day-1, day-7, and day-30 retention upfront. Include LTV/CAC by channel and cohort analysis for your soft launch markets.

Track responses: Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on. If they skip your monetization slides, that's a problem.

Get warm intros: Message founders from their portfolio on LinkedIn and ask about response times. Most will tell you if their VC actually helped with UA optimization.

Show up at events: GDC, Pocket Gamer Connects, and Gamelab are where deals happen. Local meetups won't get you funded.

Use LinkedIn smart: Connect with partners after someone introduces you. Cold messages get ignored unless your metrics are insane.

Prep your materials: Set up an Ellty data room with your financial model, cohort data, and soft launch results before they ask. It makes diligence faster.

Lead with traction: Start with your retention curves and LTV. Don't spend 10 minutes on market size they know mobile gaming is big.

Why this matters right now

Mobile gaming funding dropped in 2023 but bounced back in 2024. Hypercasual is mostly dead investors want games with 6+ month retention and real monetization. Live ops and seasonal content are table stakes now. Studios that can't show profitable unit economics in soft launch won't get funded.

AI tools for game development are getting attention but investors still care most about your retention metrics. The money is there in 2025 if you can prove your game retains players past day 30 and your LTV exceeds CAC by 3x within 180 days.

10 active mobile gaming investors

1. Griffin Gaming Partners

They manage $750M and understand why ARPDAU matters more than downloads.

• Recent Deals: Scopely ($340M, 2020), Maincard ($15M Series A, 2024), Midverse Studios ($8M seed, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Griffin Gaming Partners
• Sector Focus: F2P mobile games, game infrastructure, web3 gaming
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Santa Monica, USA
• Website: griffingp.com

2. Makers Fund

They funded Playco at $1B and get that mobile-first doesn't mean mobile-only anymore.

• Recent Deals: Playco ($100M Series B, 2021), Artie ($10M Series A, 2024), theSkimm gaming expansion ($3M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Makers Fund
• Sector Focus: Mobile games, cross-platform gaming, social gaming
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: makers.fund

3. Galaxy Interactive

$650M fund that backs mobile studios with proven retention metrics.

• Recent Deals: Frost Giant Studios ($25M Series A, 2024), Playfly Sports ($250M Series B, 2024), mobile gaming infrastructure investments
• LinkedIn: Galaxy Interactive
• Sector Focus: Mobile games, gaming platforms, interactive entertainment
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Growth
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: galaxyinteractive.io

4. Bitkraft Ventures

They've backed 50+ gaming companies and know mobile metrics cold.

• Recent Deals: Community Gaming ($11M Series A, 2024), Frankly ($4.2M seed, 2024), Omeda Studios ($15M Series A, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Bitkraft Ventures
• Sector Focus: Mobile gaming, esports platforms, gaming infrastructure
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Berlin, Germany / Los Angeles, USA
• Website: bitkraft.vc

5. Lightspeed Venture Partners

They backed Supercell early and still fund mobile studios with strong metrics.

• Recent Deals: Supercell (early investor, 2011), Epic Games ($1.5B, 2020), ongoing mobile studio investments
• LinkedIn: Lightspeed Venture Partners
• Sector Focus: Mobile games, F2P games, gaming platforms
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: lsvp.com

6. Andreessen Horowitz

a16z games fund backs mobile studios with product-market fit and strong retention.

• Recent Deals: Zynga (early rounds), Topia ($35M Series A, 2021), Singularity 6 ($30M Series B, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Andreessen Horowitz
• Sector Focus: Mobile games, social gaming, metaverse gaming
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Growth
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: a16z.com

7. Accel

They backed Rovio and understand casual mobile monetization better than most.

• Recent Deals: Rovio (Angry Birds, early investor), Tripledot Studios ($116M Series A, 2021), mobile casual studios
• LinkedIn: Accel
• Sector Focus: Casual mobile games, F2P games, gaming platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: accel.com

8. Krafton

PUBG Mobile publisher that invests in studios they might acquire or partner with.

• Recent Deals: 5minlab ($6.8M, 2024), OVERDARE ($2M, 2024), Unknown Worlds Entertainment (acquisition, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Krafton
• Sector Focus: Mobile shooters, action games, battle royale
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Strategic
• Location: Seoul, South Korea
• Website: krafton.com

9. NetEase Capital

Strategic investor that can help with China distribution if your game fits their portfolio.

• Recent Deals: Quantic Dream (minority stake, 2019), Behavior Interactive ($95M, 2020), ongoing mobile studio investments
• LinkedIn: NetEase
• Sector Focus: Mobile RPGs, action games, studios with China potential
• Stage Focus: Series B, Growth, Strategic
• Location: Hangzhou, China
• Website: neteasegames.com

10. Take-Two Interactive

Funds mobile studios through their venture arm when they see acquisition potential.

• Recent Deals: Zynga (acquired for $12.7B, 2022), ongoing mobile studio investments through T2 Ventures
• LinkedIn: Take-Two Interactive
• Sector Focus: Mobile F2P games, social casino, midcore mobile
• Stage Focus: Series B, Growth, Strategic
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: take2games.com

Track which investors check your metrics

Common questions

How do I know if an investor understands mobile gaming? Check if they've funded studios that launched multiple games. One successful game doesn't prove they understand the business model.

Should I pitch before or after soft launch? Most VCs want to see soft launch metrics before writing checks. Pre-launch rounds are rare unless you have a proven track record.

What metrics do mobile gaming investors care about most? Day-1 and day-7 retention, LTV/CAC ratio, ARPDAU, and how long it takes to become profitable per user. Downloads don't matter.

How many mobile gaming investors should I contact? Probably 20-30 to get 3-5 serious conversations. Hit rate is low because most won't invest in your genre or stage.

When should I set up a data room? Before your first investor call. They'll ask for cohort analysis, UA spend breakdown, and financial projections immediately.

Do investors actually look at pitch deck analytics? The good ones do. If an investor spends 30 seconds on your deck, move on. Don't waste time on follow-ups.