Undisclosed · Other round · Gaming · London, UK
London-based HOUF Games has closed its first investment round at a reported $4m company valuation. Webrazzi reports that ŞirketOrtağım Angel Investor Network led the financing, with angel investors and strategic funds also participating. The invested amount was not disclosed.
The company described the financing as a pre-seed round in its own announcement. Tech.eu classifies the matching event as Other, so EUVC uses the approved Other round tag while retaining the company's more precise wording in the article. HOUF says it will use the capital to expand its game portfolio and strengthen its presence in the UK, the DACH region and Benelux.
Building one IP across several formats
Founded by Erdem Öcal, İbrahim Halil Çiftçi and Ebubekir Kaplan, HOUF develops board games, collectible cards and planned digital titles around its own intellectual property. Its first release, Nice to Know! Animals, combines a competitive tabletop format with wildlife facts. Mobidictum reports that the game's 2024 Kickstarter campaign reached its initial target within five minutes and ultimately raised £22,771 from 441 backers against a £4,100 goal.
That campaign gave HOUF more than early revenue. It tested whether a new educational game concept could attract buyers before a broader retail rollout. The company now sells physical games and collectibles through its own shop, and says its products have reached 42 countries.
HOUF's strategy is to reuse a game world across formats rather than treat each title as a standalone product. Its collectible cards add rarity and trading to the same themes, while planned digital adaptations could extend play and distribution without replacing the physical product. If the same characters, knowledge themes and player communities move between tabletop, cards and digital releases, development and audience-building can reinforce one another.
Expansion will test repeatability
The round is intended to widen that portfolio. Mobidictum says HOUF plans three new games and two collectible-card series, including a title aimed at the Far East market. It also plans to expand across the UK, DACH and Benelux while operating through entities in Türkiye, Germany and the UK.
The next test is whether the Kickstarter result can become repeatable demand across several products and channels. A campaign can validate one title with an engaged early audience; retail, wholesale and digital distribution require sustained acquisition, inventory planning and localisation. HOUF's cross-format model creates more ways to reach players, but it also asks a small studio to coordinate physical production, new-market distribution and digital development at the same time.
ŞirketOrtağım's Altan Arslan told Webrazzi that HOUF's combination of physical products, collectible cards, original IP and social play influenced the investment decision. This is the network's first gaming investment. The undisclosed cheque gives HOUF resources to pursue that model, but the reported $4m figure should be read as valuation rather than fresh capital raised.
Sources checked:
HOUF Games company announcement · Webrazzi · Mobidictum · HOUF Games website · Kickstarter · Tech.eu Funding Explorer
