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§ Private Profile · Santa Monica, CA, USA
Sprocket Games is a technology company.
Sprocket Games is an emerging video game development studio focused on creating high-quality interactive entertainment. The company distinguishes itself through a progressive approach to game creation, emphasizing sustainable development practices and fostering a positive work environment for its creative and technical teams. Their core output will be games developed under this philosophy.
The studio was founded in 2022 by industry veterans Josiah Kiehl and Jo Graylock. Kiehl, who serves as CEO, brought extensive experience as a senior software engineer from Google and Riot Games. Graylock, a former League of Legends design director at Riot Games, co-founded the company with the shared insight that prioritizing developer well-being is paramount to producing exceptional games.
Sprocket Games aims to serve the broad gaming audience with titles that reflect their commitment to thoughtful design and execution. The company's long-term vision centers on building a respected name in the industry for both the caliber of its games and its exemplary studio culture, ultimately setting a new standard for game development.
Sprocket Games has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round.
Sprocket Games has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Sprocket Games is a game development studio founded in 2022, specializing in ambitious, story-driven multiplayer survival and social adventure games.[1][2][3] Based in Palo Alto, California, the studio serves the gaming industry by creating cross-platform titles that foster shared adventures, with its debut project currently in development.[1][2][4] It solves key pain points in game development by prioritizing developer well-being through comprehensive benefits like health insurance, a four-day work week, full remote operations, and a diverse, inclusive culture that empowers creators to pursue innovative designs.[1][2][3] Backed by $5M in seed funding from Bitkraft Ventures, 1Up Ventures, Gaingels, and Substrate (raised about a year ago), the studio maintains seed-stage momentum with a focus on cutting-edge tech and resilient team practices amid industry challenges.[1][2][3]
Sprocket Games emerged in 2022 from a team of industry veterans aiming to redefine studio culture after experiences at major players like Riot Games.[1][2][3] CEO and co-founder Josiah Kiehl, a software engineer with expertise in large-scale distributed systems, started at Oracle, then spent years at Riot on *League of Legends* and *Legends of Runeterra*, followed by Google Cloud CDN.[2] He teamed up with Jo Graylock (design director for *League of Legends*), Nicolas Tittley, and Reina Sweet—forming a leadership group with deep roots in multiplayer titles like *Valorant* and *EVE Online*.[1][2] The idea crystallized from frustrations with inadequate funding, isolation, and poor support for top talent; they sought to build a "developer-focused progressive studio" offering stability for moonshot projects.[1][2][3] Early traction came swiftly with $5M seed funding announced in late August 2022, enabling development of their first cross-platform social adventure game.[1][2]
Sprocket Games stands out in the competitive gaming landscape through its emphasis on people-first innovation:
Sprocket Games rides the wave of progressive studio models in gaming, addressing widespread layoffs, crunch culture, and diversity gaps amid a post-pandemic shift toward remote, sustainable work.[2][3] Timing is ideal: with multiplayer social games booming (e.g., via cross-platform play in titles like *Fortnite* and *Roblox*), their Riot-honed infrastructure expertise positions them to capture demand for story-driven adventures in a $200B+ industry strained by big-studio woes.[1][2] Market forces like investor interest in founder-led seeds (evident in their quick $5M raise) and player cravings for authentic, shared experiences favor them.[1][2] They influence the ecosystem by modeling better developer treatment—potentially inspiring reforms, attracting top talent fleeing giants, and proving diverse teams yield superior IP in an era of complex, universe-spanning games.[1][3]
Sprocket's debut cross-platform social adventure game could launch as a breakout if their tech-culture synergy delivers on multiplayer innovation, with near-term milestones likely including alpha tests and team expansion.[1][2][3] Trends like AI-assisted design tools, Web3-adjacent social features, and sustained remote work will shape them, amplifying their resilient model amid ongoing industry volatility.[3] Their influence may evolve from niche progressive studio to ecosystem leader, normalizing dev-first practices and drawing more VC to sustainable gaming ventures—proving that caring for creators truly builds great games, as their founding mission set out to demonstrate.[3]
Sprocket Games has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Seed in August 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2022 | $5M Seed | — | 1UP Ventures, BITKRAFT Ventures, Gaingels, Hiro Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Makers Fund, TMT Investments, Kevin LIN, Kristian Segerstrale, Nate Mitchell, Ryan Wyatt, Thomas VU, Gaingels, Substrate | Announced |
Sprocket Games has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Sprocket Games's investors include 1Up Ventures, BITKRAFT Ventures, Gaingels, Hiro Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Makers Fund, Tmt Investments, Kevin Lin, Kristian Segerstrale, Nate Mitchell, Ryan Wyatt, Thomas Vu.