What the business is
Seattle game studio making Metalstorm, a free-to-play 5-vs-5 aerial combat game for PC and mobile.
The bet
That a faster, less simulator-like free-to-play air-combat game can reach a wider audience on both PC and mobile.
Starting capital
2021 seed round led by BITKRAFT Ventures (amount not given in GeekWire)
How it started
Starform was founded in 2018 by Lou Fasulo, Taylor Daynes, Josh Rosen and Jason English, all formerly of Seattle mobile studio Z2, which King acquired in 2015. They took their time choosing a debut project.
What happened
Metalstorm was partly funded by the 2021 seed. It went into open beta in Canada, Sweden, Norway, Mexico and the Philippines, countries chosen as a sample of global markets for network behavior, pricing, elasticity and time-zone overlap, with about 150 'Starform Insiders' testing weekly updates.
How it ended up
The company said Metalstorm was downloaded close to 1 million times, primarily through word of mouth, with 13 employees in Seattle and one in Idaho.
What has to be true
Fasulo wants the game to attract a wider audience than hardcore flight-sim fans, so it simplifies simulation.
The chosen countries give a sampling of different markets for understanding network characteristics, pricing, elasticity and time zones.
A rotating group of about 150 players works closely with the team to evaluate weekly updates.
What can be applied
A soft launch in a handful of well-chosen countries gives a small studio market data before it pays for a global launch.
Aftermath
As of 2 June 2023, Metalstorm was in open beta in five countries, with Starform employing 13 in Seattle and one in Idaho in a hybrid workplace. The goal was to polish, test on more devices and localize; no global launch date was given.
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