Growth Stage
Ares Interactive Raises $70M to Expand Cross‑platform F2P Portfolio
•February 17, 2026
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Why It Matters
The capital infusion and strategic acquisitions position Ares to compete for high‑value IP slots and scale user‑acquisition spend, reshaping the mobile F2P landscape. Its non‑US studio focus could lower costs and attract global talent, influencing industry sourcing models.
Key Takeaways
- •Raised $70M to expand cross‑platform F2P portfolio
- •Acquired 7th Inning, launching Baseball Hits 26 in March
- •Swift Games' Heroes Vs Hordes generating strong revenue
- •Targeting large IPs for user‑acquisition efficiency
- •Prioritizing non‑US studios to reduce costs and taxes
Pulse Analysis
Ares Interactive’s $70 million financing round marks a decisive shift toward building a diversified, cross‑platform free‑to‑play slate. Backed by General Catalyst’s Consumer Value Fund, the firm can allocate multi‑million dollar monthly budgets to user‑acquisition, a scale traditionally reserved for larger publishers. By tapping a fund that requires at least $2 million in monthly UA spend, Ares can accelerate growth without diluting equity, while its advisory board—featuring ex‑Apple App Store, Kabam, and Seriously executives—provides deep distribution and monetisation expertise.
The recent acqui‑hire of 7th Inning and the outright purchase of Swift Games illustrate Ares’ twin‑track approach: secure proven development talent and immediately monetize existing titles. Baseball Hits 26, timed with the MLB season, leverages 7th Inning’s niche expertise, while Heroes Vs Hordes continues to generate solid cash flow through strategic IP integrations such as Avatar and Ghostbusters. This focus on recognizable intellectual property not only shortens user‑acquisition cycles but also boosts CPI efficiency, a critical metric in today’s competitive mobile market.
Looking ahead, Ares’ preference for non‑U.S. development partners reflects broader industry pressures—rising labor costs and limited tax incentives in the United States. By sourcing talent abroad, the company can stretch its capital further, attract diverse creative perspectives, and potentially tap regional subsidies. Coupled with the possibility of a new celebrity‑driven title, Ares is positioning itself as a nimble challenger capable of delivering blockbuster mobile experiences while redefining how publishers balance cost, talent, and IP leverage.
Deal Summary
Ares Interactive announced a $70 million fundraising round to expand its cross‑platform free‑to‑play portfolio and support user‑acquisition financing. The capital will fund further acquisitions, including the recent acqui‑hire of 7th Inning’s core team and other studio partnerships.
Article
Source: Mobilegamer.biz
Ares Interactive is already being billed by some as Glu 2.0 – so is it about to launch another Kim Kardashian: Hollywood-style hit?
Last week at DICE, we asked Mike DeLaet for more detail on the Ares gameplan, and he told us that yes, it is talking internally about doing a Kim-style game. But it’s also busy running one successful title already, has a baseball sim incoming and another unannounced licensed game after that to think about. Ares also has some interesting plans around UA and partnering with studios specifically outside the US.
But first, some context. Back when it was technically in stealth mode last year, we reported that Ares founder Niccolo de Masi had hired mobile game veteran DeLaet and several other former Glu execs in what looked a little like Glu 2.0. (de Masi had previously teased this exact thing in 2024 when talking to us about what went wrong with Glu’s attempts to replicate the success of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.)
Earlier this month, Ares announced it had raised $70m to expand further, also adding former App Store boss Matt Fischer, ex-Kabam COO Kent Wakeford, former Glu CRO Chris Akhavan and ex-Seriously CEO Andrew Stalbow to its advisory board.
From April 2024: ‘The rise and fall of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’.
Last week, DeLaet told us more. And yes, Ares might just attempt another Kim Kardashian: Hollywood style hit. Firstly though, with a chunk of that $70m raise, Ares has acqui-hired the five-person core team at San Francisco-based 7th Inning, most of whom worked on Glu’s Tap Sports Baseball games. Ares and 7th Inning will launch Baseball Hits 26 in March, just in time for the new MLB season.
And prior to that Ares had already acquired Berlin-based Swift Games outright (DeLaet wouldn’t disclose the fee). It is already “making quite good money” running its Vampire Survivors-like game Heroes Vs Hordes, and developer Swift is also working on a new, unannounced game based on licensed IP that is slated for launch later this year, DeLaet tells us.
Heroes Vs Hordes did well out of a couple of IP integrations with Avatar: The Last Airbender and Ghostbusters recently, says DeLaet, and so we ask if focusing on big IPs is part of Ares’ DNA.
“We are leaning more into IP than not for CPI reasons, built-in audiences, things like that, yeah,” he says, noting that Ares is open to working with any game developer making (almost) any genre, though it won’t be doing hypercasual or premium games.
And since we were talking about brand recognition, we had to ask: given the ex-Glu contingent at Ares, what about trying to create another Kim Kardashian: Hollywood-style celebrity game?
“It could be a celebrity, it could be anything,” says DeLaet. “An IP, a movie, a TV show, toy brand, board game…I think anything that’s recognisable from people’s childhood or that they have nostaglia for…”
(We also learn at this point that DeLaet literally lives next door to a senior member of Kim Kardashian’s team in LA, and they’ve talked about a new game a little bit in passing.)
“We’re always open to that kind of cool stuff, like working with a celebrity – I don’t know that we have identified an actual Kim K replacement type game…but it’s something that comes up often, because obviously we had a lot of success and who doesn’t want a huge game like that, right?”
“I think the issue that Glu had back in the day was they didn’t use the same dev team and the same engine to go build all those other games. So they were having racing studios go build a Katy Perry game, right? But also, I think Kim is unique.”
It’s also fascinating to learn that outside of 7th Inning, Ares would rather partner with or acquire developers “ideally outside the US” – because of sky-high costs and a lack of tax incentives.
From earlier this month: ‘Ares Interactive lands $70m to expand cross-platform F2P portfolio’.
“The baseball studio in San Francisco makes sense as the team has done it before, but yeah, generally, I don’t think we’ll work with US studios too often, really,” DeLaet explains. “Our publishing team is all in the States, but in terms of game development those are much larger teams, typically.”
DeLaet also mentions Ares’ access to UA funding through General Catalyst’s Consumer Value Fund. CVF works with developers who want to spend at least $2m a month on UA – more than fellow UA financing outfit PvX, which tends to work in the $500k-$2m per month range (Incidentally, General Catalyst is also an investor in PvX).
“It’s the kind of model where they give you the capital and if you have the basic KPIs, you can go crazy,” says DeLaet, who suggests that Ares will be getting UA financing through CVF so it can spend that $70m raise on acquiring more talent and studios.
“We’re approaching and bringing in the best of the best,” he adds. “Humble, smart, driven people to take this thing to the next level.”
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