We R Interactive Reveals Football Investment
We R Interactive has revealed, for the first time, that a range of past and present footballers including Steven Gerrard, Jermain Defoe and Scott Parker are investing in the social entertainment company, with products already being used by over 12 million consumers.
Christian Purslow, former chief executive of Liverpool Football Club and non-executive independent director at We R Interactive, has led the fundraising in the football industry and assembled a group of 16 investors who have been playing a key role with the company over the past year, both in advising on products and appearing in them.
The news comes as We R Interactive embarks on its next round of corporate fundraising.
Past and present players investing in We R Interactive also include striker Emile Heskey, England international Jordan Henderson, recently retired Liverpool defender and Champions League winner Jamie Carragher, former Scotland captain Gary McAllister and former Arsenal player and current ITV pundit Lee Dixon.
Gerrard, Carragher, Dixon, McAllister and Henderson all appear in We R Interactive’s lead product, I AM PLAYR, the game that lets you live the life of a football player both on and off the pitch.
Played by more than 11 million users across 200 countries and featuring talent including Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon, I AM PLAYR is a blend of 3D game play with first-person perspective footage, creating an interactive story-telling experience through multiple real-world scenarios.
Some of the biggest brands in the world, including Nike, Red Bull and Gillette, are all are woven around the core narrative of the game to drive product awareness and create deep levels of brand engagement. I AM PLAYR is available via the web, Facebook and mobile apps on iOS and Android.
Purslow commented: ‘Given that the subject of our first game was living the life of a professional footballer we wanted to add real authenticity to it. So I spoke to some of my friends in football to give us that insight. They liked it so much that it resulted in significant investment from the football world.’
‘Some of the biggest names in football, including Steven Gerrard, and Jordan Henderson — who are the serving England captains at senior and Under-21 level — have appeared in our game and became shareholders too.’
‘We give them regular shareholder updates and all of our footballer-shareholders have played the game. But we’re not telling how good they are at it!’
Paul Whitehead, commercial director at We R Interactive added: ‘We’re proud to have so many expert investors from football alongside our backers from the media, music and financial sectors. Their backing is a reflection of both our creativity and a proven commercial model which blends user transactions with deep brand funded integrations ensuring our whole audience is monetized.’
‘Importantly, the investors from the football industry have helped us ensure the experience is as real as possible for our users by both advising us on the narrative and rubbing shoulders with the 11 million players within the game. Lee Dixon, for example, not only appears in the game as a pundit but has been closely involved with the development of scripts. Putting experts at the heart of product development is a policy We R Interactive will continue to apply to all current and future social entertainment titles. It’s an exciting time to invest in this emerging industry.’
The full squad of football related investors:
Steven Gerrard
Jordan Henderson
James Carragher
Lee Dixon
Jermain Defoe
Robbie Keane
Emile Hesky
Christian Purslow
Scott Parker
Aiden McGeady
Tim Cahill
Stewart Downing
John Arne Riise
Christopher Smalling
Fabian Delph
Gary McAllister
