Game industry veterans Susan and Lee Cummings have secured a significant six-figure investment from Angels Invest Wales, PlayCap and The Games Angels for 10six Games, their new game development studio that is set to lead the next generation of video game hyper personalisation and customisation. Ahead of the upcoming first game release by 10six Games, the company has also announced the appointment of industry guru Nick Button-Brown as a Company Director.
Led by lead investor Huw Bishop, the pre-seed round has been funded by a syndicate of 12 angel investors including members of PlayCap (a global angel network of women from the games industry who specialise in early-stage investments in studios, companies, and tech in games) and The Games Angels (a global angel network of Games Industry veterans). The Development Bank of Wales has provided match-funding from the Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund that is run by Angels Invest Wales.
Susan and Lee Cummings previously set-up Tiny Rebel Games, the award-winning game production studio behind Doctor Who: Legacy and Infinity for mobile devices and computers. Susan also co-founded 2K Games, developing Bioshock, Borderlands, X-Com, 2K Sports, and Civilization. She is a Visiting Professor at the University of South Wales along with husband Lee who worked at Sony before moving to Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto team where he was a producer on GTA: San Andreas and GTA 4, and where he was a key member of the redesign team on Bully. More recently, he has led the creative design for various award-winning games including Doctor Who, Star Trek, War of the Worlds, and Wallace & Gromit (under licence).
Nick Button-Brown has worked across the tech and games industry for more than 20 years, including helping grow and scale Improbable, and helping take Sensible Object to a trade sale to Niantic. He is currently Chair at Outright Games, Chair at Coherence and on the Board at Adinmo. Nick founded The Games Angels in 2021, a community of games industry veterans investing and supporting start-ups. Nick is also on the Board at UKIE (one of the UKs Games industry representative bodies) and OKRE (a charity promoting links between research and entertainment) as well as driving Funding Quest, a program improving the investability of UK Games companies.
Susan Cummings said: “"Representation in video games is more important than ever, and technological limitations have long constrained the scale of customization developers could offer. With our proprietary technology and our upcoming game “YOU VS ZOMBIES”, we’re breaking those barriers—creating fully personalized, ever-evolving experiences for every player. This level of customization was previously unattainable, but thanks to advancements in generative AI, we’re making it a reality right here in Wales."
"Our technology enables autonomous AI-driven design decisions, from custom starting spells and upgrades to gameplay sequencing and story development. It’s an incredibly exciting breakthrough," said Lee Cummings. "We’re also grateful for the support of gaming industry expert Nick Button-Brown and our funding partners, who share our vision for the future of personalized gaming."
Lead investor Huw Bishop said: “It was a pleasure to bring together a group of angels to support 10six Games, a new game development studio led by seasoned founders and gaming rockstars, Susan and Lee Cummings. They have a uniquely exciting vision for the next generation of player character and story customisation in games. Their track record is second to none and I look forward to supporting them in the future”.
Tom Preene of Angels Invest Wales said: “This is a team surrounded by some of the top experts in the global games industry. They are working at the cutting edge of technology and are known for their innovation and creativity. Gaming is a growth industry, and it is exciting to think what it could mean for Wales as more developers start to recognise South Wales as a gaming hub.”
The investment by the syndicate of angels was match funded by the Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund. With equity and loans from £25,000 to £250,000, the £8 million fund is available to syndicates of investors seeking to co-invest in Wales based SMEs. Syndicates are managed by Lead Investors who have been pre-approved by Angels Invest Wales.
