EA veterans investing $40 million in indie mobile games through Tilting Point

Tilting Point, a company created by video game industry veterans including the former head of EA Partners, will invest $40 million over the next three years in mobile and tablet games from independent developers, according to a press release from the company.

Tilting Point, which plans to release its first games in 2013, has signed agreements with several developers over the last year, including Outland and Super Stardust HD developer Housemarque.

"Our view is that independent developers own the future of games," said Tom Frisina, executive chairman of Tilting Point. "However, a studio's potential can be severely hindered without a partner they can trust to help navigate the challenges of discoverability and monetization. We will nurture the best teams, positioning them for independent success over the long term. We're taking the expertise and resourcefulness gained from our combined backgrounds and applying them to a new publishing model, where development talent gains the tools to control their own destiny."

"Our view is that independent developers own the future of games."

As vice president and general manager of EA Partners, Frisina oversaw a division that works with developers to co-publish games like Insomniac Games' upcoming shooter Fuse and People Can Fly's Bulletstorm.

Other former Electronic Arts employees now at Tilting Point include president and COO Dan Sherman, formerly director of business development at EA Partners, senior vice president of legal and business affairs James Hsu, formerly senior counsel at Zynga and EA and senior development auditor Steve Coallier, formerly director of product development at EA.

Earlier this year, GREE announced that it had earmarked $10 million for a similar program. With its Partners Fund, the company hopes to attract "very talented developers who are capable of building games with our help," GREE International's vice president of publishing and partners Jim Ying told Polygon.