On March 7, 2023, former Riot Games leaders announced The Believer Company and $55 million in Series A financing led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The Los Angeles-headquartered studio said it would use the funding to build an original-IP open-world game focused on meaningful player choices and playing together. The announcement did not name platforms or give a release date.
Who founded The Believer Company?
The launch announcement named Michael Chow as CEO and Steven Snow as chief product officer. Chow was a former Riot Games vice president and an executive producer on League of Legends: Wild Rift; Snow was a Riot founding member and executive producer of League of Legends. These were their launch-era roles, not confirmation of their current positions.
The announcement also listed launch-era roles for CTO Landon McDowell, CCO Jeremy Vanhoozer, COO Tim Hsu, CMO Shankar Gupta-Harrison, Director of Operations Grace Park, VP of Design Jeff Jew, Associate Game Director Juno Blees, and VP of R&D Technologies Julien Bouvrais. Believer described itself as headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with developers around the world. The company’s March 7, 2023 announcement introduced the studio and its team.
Who funded the $55 million round?
Lightspeed Venture Partners led the announced $55 million Series A. The company named Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as key support and said it had additional seed funding from BITKRAFT Ventures, Riot Games, 1Up Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Next Play Capital, Alumni Ventures, Villam Ventures, Don Thompson’s Cleveland Avenue, and Michael D. Eisner’s Tornante Company. The $55 million figure describes the financing announced at launch; it does not establish the studio’s current funding or operating position.
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What game did Believer plan to make?
The company described a next-generation open-world game built around original intellectual property. Its stated goals included stories in which player choices matter and systems designed to bring players together rather than push them apart. In a contemporaneous interview, Snow said the studio wanted open-world adventures to be playable with friends. TechCrunch’s March 7, 2023 interview with the founders added context about those ambitions.
These were announced intentions, not details of a publicly demonstrated or released game. Believer did not identify a title, specific gameplay systems, or confirmed platforms in the cited launch materials.
Were platforms or a release date announced?
No specific platform or release date was announced. The founders spoke about broad platform accessibility, but did not say which consoles, PC storefronts, or other platforms would support the game. Snow said a three-to-five-year horizon for a first product seemed reasonable at the time, while also saying the founders were not ready to announce a date and planned to involve players in stages. That was a March 2023 estimate, not a release commitment or a current schedule.
What did the founders say about technology?
Believer said it would adopt emerging technologies selectively when they could improve development or gameplay. Chow said the studio would build new technology judiciously where existing tools could not support its goals. Snow likewise framed technology choices around whether they would make the game more fun.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →In the 2023 interview, the founders said NFTs were not a goal and discussed possible responsible uses of generative AI while emphasizing the importance of human creators. These statements describe their views at launch; they do not establish current company policy or features implemented in a game.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is The Believer Company still active?
The cited company announcement and contemporaneous interview document Believer’s launch plans in March 2023, but do not establish whether the studio remains operational or whether it has since announced or released a game. The age of the announcement alone is not evidence of closure, continued operations, or a release. No Believer game product is identified in these sources.
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