Halo co-creator raises $5 million to make "mobile games for core gamers"

Industrial Toys, the indie studio founded by Halo co-creator Alex Seropian, has raised $5 million in a round of venture capital funding from Accel Partners to help launch Midnight Star, its mobile game designed for core gamers. The investment was announced through various media interviews.

Accel Partners previously invested in Angry Birds developer Rovio and Clash of Clans creator Supercell. Now the firm is hoping that its bet on Seropian, whose Halo series has sold more than 50 million copies to date, is onto something lucrative with free-to-play game Midnight Star.

"Our plan is to build something with a permanence to it," Seropian told VentureBeat. "It seems obvious to us that core gamers will move to mobile."

For its part, Accel Partners' Vas Natarajan said that Seropian and Industrial Toys "have a vision and focus on quality. They made their first product on a scrappy budget, but it is going to be very polished."

Midnight Star, which features music from System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, is expected to launch this summer.

Seropian founded Bungie Studios in 1991 and was instrumental in the development of Halo: Combat Evolved, the first entry in the now-mammoth shooter series. Seropian later left Bungie and formed Wideload Games in 2004, which Disney purchased in 2009.

With that acquisition, Seropian was promoted to senior vice president and general manager of core games at Disney Interactive, the position he departed from in 2012 to establish Industrial Toys. You can read more about Industrial Toys in our interview with Seropian.