Nearly 750 new video games debut every day, making it difficult for a game studio like the one started by Anthony Palma in 2012 to capture the public’s attention.
What was needed, Palma realized, was a subscription service that would allow gamers to find new content from smaller companies and give developers the chance to attract a new audience.
Streaming services aren’t a new idea in the video industry. In the past, however, they’ve had problems like being limited to particular companies, focusing on just one gaming system, or being, well, not so good.
“Gamers don’t want to adopt something that doesn’t play well,” says the 30-year-old entrepreneur. He says they expect a seamless experience.
So Palma focused on a first-rate experience when he conceived of Jump Gaming, an on-demand, multi-platform video game subscription service that offers unlimited access to more than 100 indie video games. Jump aims to expose gamers to titles that have won awards or garnered high rating from users but might not have found the widest possible audience.
Called the “Netflix for games,” Jump charges $4.99 a month for unlimited play. Every month it introduces 10 new games into its ever-growing library.
Jump shares 70 percent of its revenues with the developers of the games it features. It also offers advances to some of its content contributors to soften their risk.
The Pasadena-based startup bootstrapped until this March, when it raised a $1.9 million in Series A funding from angel investors. Shortly thereafter it increased its team to 10. It was a finalist this year at WeWork’s Creator Awards San Francisco, held on May 10.
“I’m at a point in my life where the biggest thing I can bring to the table is the ability to persevere,” Palma says.
Hurdles along the way have included “continuing to push along the roadmap,” according to the CEO and founder. “There’s so much we want to do, and we have to work within the confines of being early stage.”
Growing up in West Virginia, Palma credits video games with getting him through the long, bitter winter months. He says turning his childhood passion into a career has been extremely gratifying.
“Pursuing your passion—regardless of whether it’s a business or a side project—you have to have guts, resources, wherewithal,” he says.
