GAMEFLY TO ACQUIRE PLAYCAST MEDIA SYSTEMS

Today, the leading video game rental and subscription service GameFly, Inc., announced it will introduce a video game streaming service through its acquisition of Playcast Media Systems, Ltd., the Israel-based cloud gaming platform company.

GameFly’s acquisition of Playcast coincides with dramatic growth in media streaming and pairs GameFly’s expertise delivering consumer game rental and subscription services with Playcast’s state of the art technology to create the world’s premier multi-platform, console-quality streaming video game service.

 

“The $25 billion video game industry is undergoing major disruption and consumers have expressed strong interest in streaming games, much as they do with TV and movies,” said Michael Moritz, Chairman of Sequoia Capital and GameFly Director. “GameFly’s introduction of its new streaming video game service should help accelerate the growth of this market considerably.”
GameFly also announced that Amazon Fire TV will be the exclusive streaming media device for its new service at launch. Customers are now able to stream a variety of gaming titles from leading brands and independent studios, like Warner Brothers’ acclaimed Batman series, Darksiders II, and Dirt 3. Game packs start at $6.99 a month and at launch customers can choose from six gaming packs. 
“We’re excited to offer the GameFly streaming service worldwide with Playcast’s market ready and scalable technology,” said David Hodess, CEO of GameFly. “This represents the perfect evolution of GameFly by extending its mission of providing the highest quality video games available to gamers however they want to play. We are also very pleased to launch on Amazon Fire TV and make the service available to US consumers.”
Playcast’s Israeli shareholders include Jerusalem Venture Partners, Mer Group and Xenia. Gadi Tirosh from JVP and Bret Maxwell from MK Capital will join the GameFly Board of Directors. “GameFly is the perfect company to join forces with and bring our game streaming technology to gamers around the world,” said Gadi Tirosh, Managing Partner at JVP and a Playcast Director. “They are the leaders in video game subscription services and bring an established brand, strong publisher relationships and financial resources.”

For the first time, the infrastructure is in place to support streaming video games. Nearly 80 percent of Americans now have access to high speed broadband, a majority of households have internet enabled TVs, and by 2017 there will be more than 200 million total streaming equipped devices in households. 

Following the acquisition, GameFly will be expanding Playcast’s R&D center in Caesarea.

You can find out more about the streaming service at gamefly.com/stream

About GameFly

GameFly, the leading video game rental and subscription service, allows members to rent one or more console/handheld video games concurrently, with no due dates, late fees or shipping charges. Users can easily select from over 8,000 console/handheld titles and manage their list of games online at www.gamefly.com or the GameFly App for iOS and Android devices. Members receive rental games via First-Class Mail and return them to GameFly at their convenience using prepaid mailers. GameFly now offers a game streaming service via Smart TVs, set top boxes and media players. 

About Playcast Media Systems

Providing live game streaming in 55 Asian and European countries since 2010, Playcast works with cable providers, hardware manufacturers and media companies to make game services available to consumers. Recently it was tapped by Samsung to power console quality gaming on its Smart TVs. Playcast harnesses a first-of-its-kind compression engine to stream video games from leading brands, like Warner Bros., Disney, Ubisoft, 2K, Square Enix, Capcom, and Sega, through smart TVs, over-the-top platforms, set-top boxes and micro-consoles.

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