Backing a Munich game studio building the next generation of AAA gaming
Burda Principal Investments (BPI) is excited to announce its participation in welevel’s Series A funding round led by Transcend, with participation of existing investor BITKRAFT Ventures, who led the company’s Seed financing round last year. This marks BPI’s first investment under BurdaGP, our European gaming initiative developed in partnership with UnternehmerTUM and TUM Venture Labs.
“Gaming has always been a driver of technological innovation, and with BurdaGP we’re committed to backing the founders shaping it. welevel is exactly the kind of company this initiative was built for: one of only a few independent studios with AAA-ambitions in Germany, a cornerstone for Munich’s growing gaming ecosystem, and a team that has spent the past years building a real technological head start in AI-driven game development,” said Friedrich von Wulffen, Principal at BPI.
Pushing the boundaries of interactive worlds
Founded by serial entrepreneur Christian Heimerl, welevel is a Munich-based game studio currently developing SolidRiver, a co-op survival game that combines elements of city-building, RPG progression, and open-world gameplay. The company is built around a collaborative and actively growing team, bringing together talent across game development, engineering, and design.
With SolidRiver, welevel is tapping into one of the most dynamic and globally relevant genres in gaming, while introducing a more adaptive and player-driven experience. This involves user-generated content, one of the defining trends shaping how successful games are built and sustained today.
The company is building something genuinely new: a game world that responds, adapts, and feels alive in ways that weren’t previously possible. welevel’s proprietary technology platform allows the small team to deliver the visual and technical quality typically associated with much larger studios, while maintaining the creative depth and flexibility of an independent studio.
Strengthening Europe’s gaming ecosystem
“welevel is part of a new wave of ambitious gaming companies emerging across Europe. From its base in Munich, the studio is contributing to a growing ecosystem of technical talent, creative founders, and next-generation game development. Through BurdaGP, we aim to actively support this ecosystem by connecting founders with capital, expertise, and a broader network across the industry, building on our partnership with TUM Venture Labs,” said Josephine Lusch, Investment Associate at BPI.
The company reflects BPI’s broader investment strategy of backing category-defining businesses at the intersection of technology and consumer engagement. By combining a strong creative vision with an AI-first approach, it is well positioned to redefine what modern game development can look like. We’re excited to welcome welevel into our portfolio and support the team as they continue to build and scale their vision.
welevel is actively growing its team in Munich and looking for exceptional talent across disciplines. If you’re excited about building next-generation games in a highly ambitious and collaborative environment, explore open positions on their jobs page here.