Windwalk launches social software Harbor, raises $4.5M in funding

Game studio Windwalk announced today that it’s launching a new social software platform called Harbor, aimed at helping developers engage with their superfans and cultivate relationships with their followers. In addition, Windwalk also announced it had raised $4.5 million in funding from investors such as a16z Speedrun, Tirta Ventures, and YCombinator.

According to the studio, Harbor is built on a series of tools designed to gamify the process of attracting superfans and promoting a game by word of mouth. The process includes playtesting, pre-registration and feedback submission. At launch, Harbor builds hubs for superfans integrated into client companies’ existing websites and apps. These partners can launch community events, creator programs and in-game rewards from Harbor.

Colin Feo, Windwalk CEO, said in a statement, “Consumer companies these days view driving new user growth as a crisis. Their tried and true levers: ads, influencers, even cross-promo, have become zero-sum. How does a company excel when everyone is renting the same eyeballs at roughly the same price? The only way to win is on the shoulders of your most passionate users: your superfans.”

Harbor features no-code dashboards to make community management easier for partner companies. It also features several data tools that give partners more information about their superfans and offering insights. Some of Harbor’s partners include Scopely, EVE Frontier from CCP Games, NZXT and Immutable among others. Last month, Harbor generated 5,000,000 monthly active users for its partners.

Eyrún Jónsdóttir, CCP Games’ VP of publishing, said in a statement, “Harbor has been instrumental in the growth of EVE Frontier as we continue development and engage our audiences across multiple channels. Its allowed us to reward and delight our player base through an end-to-end platform that holds real value. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Windwalk and connecting with our fans in new ways.”