In August 2020, Wildlife Studios, a São Paulo-based maker of casual mobile games, announced a $120 million Series B round at a post-money valuation of nearly $3 billion. The round was led by Vulcan Capital, with participation from Human Capital. It was the company’s second raise in roughly eight months and more than double the $1.3 billion valuation it reached in a $60 million round in December 2019.
This is a retrospective on a 2020 funding event. The figures below describe the company as reported at that time. They do not describe Wildlife Studios’ valuation, headcount, revenue or ownership today.
The round in brief
- Amount: $120 million, Series B.
- Valuation: nearly $3 billion, as reported by GamesBeat and PocketGamer.biz in 2020.
- Lead investor: Vulcan Capital, with participation from Human Capital, per company-related coverage from LAVCA, GamesBeat and Crunchbase News.
- Timing: August 2020. The exact announcement day was not confirmed in the coverage reviewed for this piece.
How it compares with the December 2019 round
Wildlife had raised money only months earlier. The table compares the two rounds on the figures that were reported for each.
| Item | December 2019 round | August 2020 Series B |
|---|---|---|
| Amount raised | $60 million | $120 million |
| Valuation | $1.3 billion | Nearly $3 billion |
| Lead investor | Not stated in the 2020 coverage reviewed | Vulcan Capital, with Human Capital participating |
| Headcount | About 500 employees | More than 700 employees |
The valuation roughly doubled to more than doubled in about eight months, while the round size doubled. Headcount figures come from 2020 coverage and are approximate.
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- Free-to-play tank game
- Massive army of tanks
- Intense tank battles
- Easy controls
- Global warfare
Who invested
Vulcan Capital led the Series B. Human Capital took part in the round. Company-level financing reportedly totaled about $250 million since Wildlife was founded in 2011, according to a company release from 2020. That cumulative figure includes both 2020 rounds and earlier financing.
What the money was for
Wildlife said the new capital would not be used to acquire studios. CEO Victor Lazarte said the company would keep creating and promoting its own games with its own resources. He also said the company planned to invest up to $200 million over two years to become a preferred destination for strong game designers. This is a paraphrase of his 2020 remarks as reported in coverage, not a direct quote.
Rank #2
- Experience pregnancy, survival, and motherhood.
- Roam freely in stunning natural landscapes.
- Protect yourself and your baby from predators and hunger.
- Enjoy changing seasons and realistic nature effects.
For a reader trying to judge the round, the distinction matters. A studio that buys other studios spends capital on acquisitions and inherits their revenue and costs. Wildlife’s stated plan was organic: build more titles, market them and attract creative talent.
The games and scale behind the valuation
Wildlife’s business is casual mobile games. Coverage from 2020 credited the company with more than 60 released games, of which about half a dozen were described as major successes. Titles named in that coverage include Zooba, Tennis Clash and Castle Crush. The company also reported about 100 million monthly active users across its library at the time.
Rank #3
- Features:
- Highly Quality Graphics and animation from penguin games.
- High Quality arctic Penguin life simulator game.
- Realistic Sound & effects of animal simulator game.
- Customized Controls for movements around the Snowy Landscapes
Those figures are company-reported or taken from press coverage of company statements. They were not independently audited in the material reviewed, and the coverage did not establish how revenue was split between games or how each title made money.
How to read a $3 billion valuation in a private round
A private valuation is the price investors agreed to pay for shares in a funding round. It is not a market price that changes every day, and it does not tell you what the company would sell for. Three points help put the 2020 figure in context:
Rank #4
- The valuation depends on the terms of the round, including preference rights that can differ between investors.
- Rapid step-ups between rounds, such as the move from $1.3 billion to nearly $3 billion in eight months, usually reflect investor expectations about growth, not audited profits.
- Publicly reported private valuations are often rounded and drawn from company statements or sources close to the deal, so they should be read as approximate.
What is not established here
The coverage reviewed for this article does not establish Wildlife Studios’ valuation, revenue, headcount, ownership or fundraising since 2020. Anyone looking at the company now should check newer filings, press releases or reporting from the years after 2020, because the figures above are a snapshot of a single funding event.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Great graphics.
- Simple controls.
- Character progression.
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