Tencent-backed Kamcord has launched its capture and stream service in Japan and Korea today, as they continue their push into the East Asian markets.
Last year the company raised a $15 million USD B round to fuel their Asia expansion, opening offices in Tokyo and Seoul. Investors include Japanese game company Gungho and Wargaming along with Tencent. Kamcord has since worked on developing local partnerships to integrate their latest live streaming function.
Kamcord, which graduated from Y-combinator in 2012, began as software that could record gameplay using an integrated SDK. As of this year it has evolved into a live streaming service for gaming, entering the same territory as Twitch to cater to some of the biggest names in live gaming.
The company first launched an Android record-and-play version in late 2013, before revealing an Android version of the live streaming function in June. Android remains dominant in the Asian markets that Kamcord is attempting to tap into.
Kamcord launched their streaming service in the U.S. this summer, in July this year they claimed to have around 1 million registered users and approximately 5 million videos.
Asia has an extensive appetite for play-and-share as well as live streaming services in the game sector. There are several players that compete with Kamcord is at least one aspect, including YY, Douyou, Duopai and Aipai.
Korea’s fast internet speeds and Japan’s developed gaming industries made them viable targets for Kamcord’s early entry in Asia. Further markets have not yet been decided by the company, though their funding partnership with Tencent paves the path for a highly-anticipated China entry.