AccelByte, a backend services platform for game developers, raises $60M led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2

techcrunch.com:

AccelByte, a platform that helps game creators build backend services and tools, has raised $60 million in Series B led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Sony Interactive Entertainment and returning backers Galaxy Interactive and NetEase.

The company’s last funding announcement was in August 2021 for a $10 million Series A led by Galaxy Interactive. To date, the startup has raised a total of $70 million. Accelbyte did not disclose its valuation.

AccelByte’s platform enables developers to build, scale and operate live service games across the player experience loop, including lobby, friends, matchmaking, cloud progression, achievements, season pass, launcher and patcher and more.

The Seattle-headquartered startup will use the money to enhance the backend platform for game creators and support the continued development of the tools to operate AAA-quality live service games at scale.

AccelByte CEO Junaili Lie, who previously led the backend engineering team at Epic Games, founded this startup in 2016. While working at Epic Games, Lie realized that nothing flexible enough existed to support the hefty backend requirements for the then-nascent Epic platform his team had been tasked to build. Lie told TechCrunch that he wants to democratize game creation and provide independent creators — no matter large or small — the same access to AAA-quality tools and platforms to create games and multiplayer experiences.

The firm has seen strong traction as the game industry has experienced explosive growth in well-funded, venture-backed studios. AccelByte claims it has tripled its customer numbers since the Series A, and more than 30 studios are building on the AccelByte platform, Lie told TechCrunch. Its current clients