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aNb Media News, June 18, 2018

Sensible Object Launches Voice Originals, Announces $3.2MM Funding Round

Sensible Object, the London-based gaming studio behind Beasts of Balance, has raised $3.2 million in Series Seed 2 funding as it expands its product base and continues its growth in the connected play category. Participants in the round include NCSOFT and March Capital, with early-stage investors London Venture Partners and the Amazon Alexa Fund following on. With the closing of this round, Sensible Object reports an investment total of more than $5 million to date.

Today, Sensible Object launches pre-orders on Amazon for When In Rome, the first title in its second game series Voice Originals. The series is a result of the company’s participation in the first Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars, in which Sensible Object executives worked with the Amazon Alexa and Techstars teams to create the first original board game designed to work with Alexa. When in Rome is a travel trivia game where real people ask the questions. The game places Alexa in the role of host and games master, keeping track of the score while flying players around the world and introducing them to real locals from 20 different cities. In addition to the boxed game, players can try out the experience for free by installing the When In Rome Alexa Skill.

The new funding will support R&D, customer acquisition, and new product development as the company continues to innovate and solidify its position in the gaming marketplace.

Masha Homescreen Mock w_ Frame (soccer)YouTube Kids Fetes World Cup with Exclusive Content

YouTube Kids debuts two exclusive series in celebration of the World Cup: Angry Birds: BirLd Cup and Masha and The Bear: World Cup. The two new shows are part of an in-app event celebrating the game of soccer. The shows live alongside additional compilations of soccer-related videos and a dedicated soccer category on a specially themed home page. The YouTube Kids soccer event kicked off on June 13 and runs through July 16.

In Angry Birds: BirLd Cup, teams of kids are joined by Everton Football Club’s Wayne Rooney, Cenk Tosun, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Tom Davies in a series of soccer challenges. All the action is intermixed with new Angry Birds animation where the Bad Piggies try to keep score and Red and Chuck show off their skills.

In Masha and The Bear: World Cup, Masha along with Bear and all the forest dwellers come together to watch the big game. The episodes include
“Girls Play Football Too”, “Play Fair”, “Bend it like Masha”, and “Don’t Undervalue the Opponent”. New episodes air each week.