Area gamemaker Shoutz partners with Pitbull for mobile arcade
May 31, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Area tech firm Shoutz Inc. has launched a mobile gaming subsidiary that’s working with celebrity recording artist Pitbull.
Overland Park-based Shoutz Inc. recently announced the founding of GameRail, which partnered with Pitbull to offer a variety of casino-style games in both English and Spanish. The PitBull Arcade — which features the artist’s image — offers slots, arcade games and instant-win games.
Shoutz and GameRail hope to capitalize on the quickly growing mobile and social gaming category. Shoutz CEO Jim Mueller said that social gaming generated more than $4 billion revenue in the U.S. in 2015 and more than 85 million average annual users.
Mueller said Gamerail plans to target the 120 million adults in the United States who play the lottery.
“Mobile and social gaming is one of the highest-growth categories on the web today,” Mueller said in a release. “With GameRail, we are pioneering the social-lottery gaming sector by offering a collection of free-to-play interactive game themes.”
GameRail is a cross-device gaming platform, meaning it can be accessed via smartphone, tablet or computer web browser. The company plans to release an app in late 2016. In total, GameRail will feature 50 free games such as lottery, slots, card games, bingo and more.
GameRail generates revenue from in-game purchases and the sale of advertising. It also allows players to redeem tokens for gift cards to various retailers.
Formerly an Austin-based firm, Shoutz furthered its local footprint after it acquired Leawood-based Front Flip in 2015. Front Flip — which has more than 1 million downloads of its customer loyalty app — offers its users gifts and rewards to participating businesses. Shoutz develops mobile gaming with consumer engagement and loyalty programs within the retail, media and entertainment industries.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
LaunchKC reveals 2017 finalists for $500K grant pool
LaunchKC on Friday announced 20 finalists vying for $500,000 in grants. The popular grants contest will award eight startups each a $50,000 non-dilutive grant and one firm a grand prize of $100,000 after a live pitch competition at Techweek Kansas City on Sept. 15. Techweek Kansas City is scheduled from Sept. 11 to Sept. 15…
Overland Park startup nabs $100K from Steve Harvey’s ABC show
As if the national exposure wasn’t enough, local entrepreneur Hilary Philgreen walked away from “Steve Harvey’s Funderdome” on ABC with a $100,000 prize. The show, which aired Sunday, allows inventors to compete for cash to help accelerate their businesses. Overland Park-based StinkBOSS is a solution for everyday odor, eliminating bacteria using ozone technology. Designed for…
SoftBank invests $4.4 billion in WeWork
Global coworking giant WeWork recently raked in a massive investment from SoftBank. The Tokyo-based conglomerate and its $93-billion Vision Fund has injected $4.4 billion into WeWork, which has 23 coworking spaces in the United States — including a shared, 40,000- square-foot workspace in Kansas City in the Crossroads Arts District — and more than 27…
UMKC hatchling Artist INC takes on new ownership, regional expansion
Artist INC, a program supporting hundreds of Kansas City artists, announced Thursday that it has new ownership and will further expand in the region. Formerly a program of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center, Artist INC is now housed and fully supported by the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA). A regional arts nonprofit, M-AAA serves…