In-game commerce provider Playspan has closed a $16.8 million second round of financing. Previous investors Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, Novel TMT Ventures and STIC all participated in the round, in addition to undisclosed sources. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company will use the funds to build out its publisher base and expand into Europe and Asia.
PlaySpan has raised a total of $24 million in funding since its inception, and gobbled up alternative gaming payment firm PayByCash for an undisclosed amount in July. PayByCash helps bridge the gap between online worlds and real-world money largely through pre-paid gaming cards that are sold in locations like Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and 7-Eleven. There are a number of in-game and virtual-world commerce tech firms in the space, including LiveGamer, which recently upgraded its virtual trading platform and signed on a trio of new publishers. Release.
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2008\/11\/25\/419-gaming-company-playspan-picks-up-168-million-second-round\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_fd250d6d4cd130a50f68c58eafd606b6","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}