PlayBrain Closes $6M Series A Round to Further Advance Japan’s Esports Industry
PlayBrain serves as a catalyst for brands, leagues, and publishers entering and engaging with Japan’s fast-growing gaming community through large-scale event production and content creation.
PlayBrain, the leading esports content provider in Japan, today announced a $6 million Series A financing round. The round included participation from return investor BITKRAFT Esports Ventures and brings PlayBrain’s total funding since launch to $8 million. PlayBrain’s vision is to help establish the nascent Japanese esports ecosystem and support the growth and adoption of Japanese esports culture. The investment will be used to grow Playbrain’s footprint, expand into additional esports and entertainment properties, and double down on its support on leading the creative direction, operation, and commercialization of League of Legends Japan League (“LJL”).
PlayBrain is the leading full-services esports tournament and media company in Japan and helps brands and game publishers to reach gamers and fans through large-scale esports event production and marketing. Already in its second year of successful partnership with LJL (League of Legends Japan League), PlayBrain has helped LJL set viewership records for its broadcast. In addition to Riot Games, PlayBrain also works with the most prominent publishers and brands involved in gaming including Activision Blizzard, EA, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Twitch, Supercell, Alienware and Intel.
In conjunction with this financing, PlayBrain has appointed Buddy Marini, Founder and CEO of Mangamo as a member of the advisory board. Buddy’s diverse experiences span creating successful mobile esports products as MD of Supercell Japan and merging esports and mainstream entertainment as CEO at Hulu Japan, making him the ideal partner to advise and guide PlayBrain as they continue to grow the esports culture in Japan.
"PlayBrain helps global games and brands reach Japanese audiences by producing market-leading esports events and by creating our own portfolio of major esports platforms and formats, tailored to the Japanese market,” said PlayBrain Founder Mike Sheetal. ”Although the Japanese esports market had a late start in comparison to the rest of the world, the esports market in Japan is expected to grow 250% over the next four years. We are proud to play an integral role in establishing and building the esports market in Japan and helping it gain more ground in the global esports industry.”
“We not only saw the momentum and growth of the Japanese esports market as a whole but also witnessed PlayBrain’s instrumental role in establishing the esports-ecosystem in Japan. We are very excited to be backing the next phase of growth with this financing and our active support,” said BITKRAFT Founding General Partner, Malte Barth. “If you are a brand or publisher that wants to get your foot in the door in the Japanese esports market, PlayBrain is undoubtedly the go-to-partner.”
PlayBrain also recently soft-launched TAIYORO.gg, a media platform that houses esports content that introduces esports culture and entertainment to Japanese esports fans.
About PlayBrain
PlayBrain Inc. is a company specializing in esports planning, branding, creative, event management, product development and marketing. From its establishment in 2016 to the present, it is composed of members with backgrounds in fields such as the games, creative, marketing, and more. PlayBrain is striving for Japan to be a global leader in the world of esports.
Among significant projects, PlayBrain has a long-term partnership with Riot Games and Yoshimoto Kogyo to operate the League of Legends Japan League (LJL) and delivers Japanese language broadcasts of international competitions for major global titles from Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, Supercell and more. Active in developing esports in the local community, PlayBrain is also a member of Future Design Shibuya, Shibuya 5G Entertainment Project, and an organising partner for ePARA, an esports organisation for disabled esports players. PlayBrain’s other services include FUTAROKU.gg, TAIYORO.gg and DEKKI.com.
About BITKRAFT Esports Ventures
An early and mid-stage investor focused on the esports sector, BITKRAFT discovers, supports, and scales esports startups globally along with the industry’s most influential companies.
BITKRAFT Esports Ventures was founded in 2017 by esports legend, Jens Hilgers. Hilgers previously founded ESL and served as CEO before selling the majority stake to MTG in 2015. In addition to serving as Managing Partner at BITKRAFT, Jens is the Co-Founder and Chairman of G2 Esports, and the Managing Director of BAYES Holding (formerly DOJO Madness).
BITKRAFT launched a Venture Fund in 2018, and is active in Berlin, Los Angeles and San Francisco, the epicenters of the western esports world.
