Skillz, the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Exit Games, global developer of Photon, the world’s most advanced synchronous multiplayer gaming technology. 

Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Exit Games allows developers to create and host real-time, synchronous multiplayer games. Its nearly 600,000 trusted partners include some of the most well-respected game publishers and developers in the world, such as Square Enix, EA, and Ubisoft, among others, powering gameplay in over 700,000 applications. 

Skillz’s investment in Exit Games will give the Company permanent access to Exit’s technology to power its esports tournaments and platform exclusivity. The partnership will dramatically accelerate Skillz’s timeline to support multiplayer synchronous content on the platform, while also enabling Skillz to build unrivaled features in tandem with Exit’s gaming technology. Publishers and developers worldwide will now have the ability to build games on the Skillz platform in entirely new genres, such as battle royale, while continuing to provide gamers with the confidence that their contests will always live up to the Skillz promise of fairness. 

“Bringing the world’s best synchronous, multiplayer gaming technology to Skillz unlocks tremendous opportunity, greatly accelerating our entry into popular genres like fighting, first-person shooter and racing,” said Andrew Paradise, Founder and CEO of Skillz. “Expanding into these new areas will grow our total universe of players and allow us to capture an even greater share of their leisure time and spend, while also introducing the technology and infrastructure necessary to attract more of the hottest, most creative developers, publishers, brands and iconic franchises to our platform.”

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Under the terms of the deal, Skillz has invested $50 million for a minority stake in Exit Games. In addition, Paradise will join the Board of Exit Games as a board observer. 

“We are big admirers of Skillz and how they are innovating in the field of competitive gaming,” said Christof Wegmann, the Founder and CTO of Exit Games. “This investment is a natural fit. We’re pleased to have Skillz as a long-term partner in bringing synchronous play to our developers and their gaming fans around the world.”

LionTree Advisors served as financial advisor and Orrick served as legal advisor to Skillz in the transaction. GP Bullhound served as financial advisor and Taylor Wessing served as legal advisor to Exit Games.