Flavourworks banks £3 million for patent-pending Touch Video technology, blending movies and games

Flavourworks, the London-based studio pioneering a new genre of gaming content, has raised a £3 million Series A to further develop its patent-pending, cross-platform “Touch Video” technology. The round was led by Hiro Capital, a new gaming and entertainment VC fund that launched last month, with support from Sky Ventures, which also invested in Hiro’s fund.

Jack Attridge and Pavle Mihajlovic founded the studio back in 2015 with the idea of bringing together the immersive narrative of films with the interactive experience of games. Through storytelling, soundtracks, and new technology, Flavourworks is producing games unlike any other on the market. The studio’s first release, Erica, is a live-action interactive thriller in which a player’s decisions impact the story of the female protagonist. Beyond simple choices or navigating to an end goal, Flavourworks’ Touch Video technology allows the player to occupy the virtual world in a more nuanced, human way. Using the touchpad on Sony’s Dualshock 4 or a mobile device screen, the player can “touch” the world — can wipe a tear off a character’s face, or peer through a door slowly so as not to be discovered.

Mihajlovic explains: “Erica merges the worlds of film and video games in a way that no one's done before. Our technology combines the mechanics of traditional storytelling with immersive soundtracks and next-level interactions that let you touch, feel and experience nuanced, interactive stories. This is the first time a game lets you reach out and touch a real, live-action world and have this world react to you in a meaningful way. We’re so excited to be working with our investors to help share these experiences worldwide.” Erica has recently been published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and is available on the PlayStation 4 now, with mobile launches following soon. Commenting on the investment, managing partner of Hiro Luke Alvarez said: “Hiro is thrilled to be investing in Flavourworks as our Fund’s first of many deals. Jack and Pavle have exactly what we look for in game entrepreneurs: they have a powerful vision of inventing a whole new genre; they have innovated both the technology and the game content to do that; and they are getting traction with some of the biggest players in the ecosystem, including Sony and Sky. Cherry, Ian and I are very optimistic about the potential for Flavourworks and we are looking forward to working with Jack and Pavle as they scale.”

Cherry Freeman, also a Hiro partner, said: “Touch Video has given Flavourworks the ability to take the concept of immersive game play to the next level. From building innovative technology to developing dynamic stories, Jack and Pavle are revolutionising how players interact with games. We are also very pleased to be investing alongside Sky Ventures.”