Heatwave Interactive announced today that it has received a $7.5 million series "A" investment from Syncom Venture Partners for the initial funding of "Central Studio" which will develop new and licensed Video Game IP for exploitation across multiple media channels.

"Heatwave’s Central Studio has assembled veteran talent from the interactive games, film, television and music industries to create a production studio with a unique business approach," said Anthony Castoro, Heatwave’s President and Chief Creative Officer. "Games are a powerful platform for creating mainstream brands and IP, however the game industry is notorious for missed deadlines, excessive ’crunch,’ and formulaic licensed games. Heatwave has taken lessons from game industry veterans as well as seasoned professionals from other media sectors to create a new model that is more disciplined and provides a more productive creative environment. The result is an entity that will generate successful new game IP that will easily crossover to other media formats."

Heatwave’s innovative business model is designed to minimize the risks traditionally associated with developing new entertainment properties. "We internally fund the development of new concepts and screen them through an exhaustive evaluation process," explained Donn Clendenon, CEO of Heatwave. "Once a concept makes it through this process, Heatwave raises development funds, partners with talented developers and leverages strategic relationships to bring our products to market. This model enables designers and artists to be creative and innovative while at the same time reducing the risk for investors, publishers and strategic partners."

Heatwave Interactive will be announcing several new projects in the coming months. "It’s only been a short period of time since SYNCOM welcomed Heatwave into our portfolio, but we are thrilled with the early progress the company has made in developing its initial slate of projects," said Stan Smith of SYNCOM. "We are highly confident that Heatwave will be at the forefront of a paradigmatic shift in how interactive entertainment intellectual property is developed and exploited. Equally exciting, Heatwave’s model will provide a new vehicle for investors to better assess and mitigate risk and ultimately participate in the lucrative interactive entertainment industry." As part of the transaction, Heatwave appointed SYNCOM’s Tony Thomas and Stan Smith to its board of directors.