Medford-based video game studio Wicked Saints has secured $3.5 million from investors, including a big name in gaming, to get the company’s first title, "World Reborn," to market.
It’s a newsworthy round both because the difficult current funding environment and co-founder and CEO Jessica Murrey is one of the few Black women to raise more than $1 million from investors.
Including pre-seed investments, the company has raised a total of $4.6 million, all from Murrey’s base in Medford, Oregon. The company is a graduate of the Niantic Black Developers Initiative, an incubator program from the maker of Pokemon Go.
What is Wicked Saints?
Wicked Saints' first game, which features immersive, augmented reality, incorporates real world activities with in-game power and stories.
The four-year-old studio is born out of Murrey’s work with the international non-governmental organization Search for Common Ground, which helps rebuild trust in communities torn apart by violent conflict. Murrey worked with young activists around the world on peacebuilding strategies and using storytelling to shift attitudes and behaviors. She also spent time with Ashland high school students, where she saw an opportunity to really help Gen Z mobilize.
“I saw how deeply this generation cares about what is going on around them: the planet, equity, mental health,” she said. “But the problems are so big they are paralyzed. A few would go out and take action. But, even though they were passionate there are barriers to self-efficacy, or your belief in your ability to accomplish a goal.”
As she watched younger players escape into games and gain mastery and confidence, she sought ways to bridge those two developments.
“Could we build a game where all the power in-game bleeds into real life? (Young people) could start to feel more confident and lean into relationships and engage in community,” she said. “That’s what we are doing.”
While the story within the game is fantasy and entertainment, it encourages players to practice dealing with relationships, conflict and problems, Murrey said. Players spend energy credits on in-game choices: When they run out of energy they must complete real world “missions.”
Murrey’s co-founder Alicia Clifton is a behavioral science researcher. The two worked together at Search for Common Ground. Chief Technology Officer Daphne Larose-Molapo, who joined the duo following the Niantic program, was a technical lead manager for the San Francisco game company and helped co-manage the Pokemon Go code base.
About 350 early game testers, members of the game’s Discord, provide feedback to Wicked Saints. The company has seven employees plus eight contractors. It’s aiming for a full game launch in 2025.
The seed Round
The funding round took Murrey six months-plus to complete.
“Just 0.3% of venture capital goes to Black women,” she said. “My game is really unique, so we don’t fall in a genre. I not only have to get (investors) over the notion of my game but also myself. The game industry is only 2% Black. It was extremely hard to raise.”
She eventually worked out a strategy that leaned heavily on her background building social movements. The lead investors on this round are video game developer and publisher Riot Games and Oregon Venture Fund. Other fund participation came from Oregon investor Rogue Women, as well as Bronze, 1Up, Precursor, Authentic, Origins, Mini Fund, Cap Table Coalition and Gaingels.
“It's more than just a game; it's a movement to empower players to make a difference in the world,” said Jake Perlman-Garr, head of corporate development at Riot Games, in a written statement.
Because Murrey built a robust network with influential investors in Silicon Valley, she hadn’t planned to fundraise Oregon, as she didn't have a network in Portland.
However, a chance meeting on a flight from San Francisco introduced her to Oregon Venture Fund. Once OVF and Riot came on to lead the round, the rest came together quickly.
“Wicked Saints is not only revolutionary for players, but also the partners they collaborate with,” said Alline Akintore, a partner at Oregon Venture Fund, in a written statement. “Business and social change do not have to be mutually exclusive and Wicked Saints is lighting the way toward authentic connection with younger generations.”
The company is fully distributed. It’s C-suite is 75% women, 50% Black and 75% queer, according to the company.
“We want to be a top charting game and one of the top apps in the App Store,” said Murrey. “And we have the team to make that happen.”
