PowerZ develops a fantasy educational game that teleports children into a world of dragons, magic and an evolving main storyline intended to be as engaging as Minecraft or Fortnite. The company launched the first version on computers in February, and 15,000 children tried the first chapter, spending an average of four hours in the game. PowerZ plans to add content by partnering with third-party studios (Zero Games, Opal Games and ArkRep are initial contributors), expand to additional platforms and launch new languages, including an English version. It is rolling out on iPad this week, plans iPhone support and expects a 2022 release on Nintendo Switch and potentially other consoles. The game is currently free; PowerZ plans to monetize via in-app purchases for visual items and intends to position itself as a publisher while keeping the main storyline in-house. Financially, the company recently completed a financing to fund content, platform expansion and localization. PowerZ is an edtech startup and video game studio founded by Emmanuel Freund (founder of Shadow) with former Shadow employees. The company is developing an open-world educational game that covers multiple subjects—math, history, geography, botany, astronomy and poetry—rather than focusing on a single knowledge area. It aims to be as engaging as popular games like Fortnite or Minecraft while avoiding heavy gamification, instead offering modest unlockable customizations. The game will adapt to individual children’s strengths and attention spans, and provide parents with reports on activity. PowerZ plans to develop the product with a community of parents, teachers and children and run an alpha test in 2021 first in France and then in English-speaking countries. The company is in early stages and has secured seed funding to support development.

Total raised

$12M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Debt Financing

Latest activity

Jul 2021