Ares Interactive, which makes cross-platform, free-to-play games with plans for a new baseball game in 2026, raised a $70M Series A led by General Catalyst
Company president Mike DeLaet discusses how the ambitious company aims to scale, potential acquisitions and the opportunities for Baseball Hits 26
Context & Ripple Effects
Ares Interactive’s funding arrives as the company prepares to turn its cross-platform free-to-play strategy into a baseball release and weighs acquisitions as part of scaling. The related coverage has already framed the round around those operating choices, including its acquisition ambitions and Baseball Hits 26 plans.
The move fits a continuing, if uneven, willingness to fund game studios pursuing multi-device audiences: Elodie Games’ earlier cross-play funding round similarly backed games spanning PC, mobile and consoles. Ares now has a larger capital base with which to execute that model.
First-order effects
- Ares can fund development, launch preparation and live operations for Baseball Hits 26 while building the team and infrastructure needed for cross-platform free-to-play games.
- Management gains capacity to evaluate acquisitions alongside internal expansion, making deal selection and integration an immediate execution issue.
Second-order effects
- Other cross-platform studios seeking comparable scale will face a better-capitalized competitor for development talent, distribution partnerships and potential acquisition targets.
- If Ares pursues acquisitions, smaller game teams with complementary capabilities may have an additional strategic buyer, rather than relying solely on venture financing or larger publishers.
Third-order effects
- The round reinforces a studio-building model in which free-to-play developers seek enough capital to operate across platforms and potentially consolidate capabilities before proving a franchise.
- Whether that model endures will depend on whether funded studios can turn cross-platform launches into durable player and revenue bases; the corpus does not establish that outcome for Ares.
The trend: Game investment is increasingly backing studios that pair cross-platform free-to-play development with the option to scale through acquisitions.