Key Takeaways
- Ironwood Studios, the Seattle-based 20-person AA studio behind Pacific Drive, closed a $4 million seed funding round led by Lifelike Capital, a Taiwan-based VC firm investing in social, gaming, and frontier tech.
- The $4M will fund development of the studio’s unannounced next project, which CEO Cassandra Dracott hinted may be connected to the Pacific Drive universe.
- Pacific Drive has sold over 1.5 million copies and reached 3 million+ players worldwide (via PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass), validating the AA survival-driving niche and giving investors high confidence in the team’s execution ability.
- The round comes as global gaming investment rebounds – the sector saw $4.3 billion in investment in 2024, up 38% from 2023 and AA studios are increasingly attracting seed-stage capital from dedicated gaming VCs.
Quick Recap
Ironwood Studios, the independent Seattle area developer best known for the survival title Pacific Drive, closed a $4 million seed funding round on February 9, 2026. The financing was led by Lifelike Capital and is earmarked to support the studio’s next game project, the details of which have not yet been made public.
Pacific Drive has achieved commercial success since its initial release in February 2024, selling more than 1.5 million copies worldwide and reaching over 3 million players through availability on PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass. The game’s strong performance and critical reception, combined with leadership’s creative track record, were cited as key factors attracting investor support.
Ironwood Studios Secures Investor Backing for Next Game
Lifelike Capital, founded in 2022 and based in Taiwan, is a global venture capital firm focused on the intersection of social platforms, gaming, and frontier technology. Ironwood’s round represents Lifelike’s 10th known investment and a continued pattern of backing small, high-potential game studios – the firm also participated in Dead Astronauts’ €4M seed round in February 2025.
Randy Lee, co-founder and general partner at Lifelike Capital, cited the team’s “exceptional talent” and “proven track record of shipping and launching a game” as key investment drivers. Notably, Lee revealed that one of Lifelike’s founders is personally a fan of Pacific Drive, which helped catalyze the relationship.
Ironwood Studios itself is a lean operation – a 20-person AA studio based in Seattle (with operations in Redmond, Washington). The studio was founded in 2019 by Cassandra Dracott, who conceived Pacific Drive while driving through Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The game launched in February 2024 for PS5 and PC, hit 600,000 copies sold by July 2024, surpassed 1 million within its first year, and has now crossed 1.5 million units. Additionally, horror filmmaker James Wan secured rights in December 2024 to adapt Pacific Drive into a television series.
Competitive Landscape
| Feature / Metric | Ironwood Studios | Dead Astronauts | Brain Jar Games |
| Headquarters | Seattle, USA | Malmö, Sweden | USA |
| Founded | 2019 | 2024 | ~2024 |
| Team Size | ~20 people | 4 founders (expanding) | – |
| Seed Funding | $4M (Feb 2026) | €4M / ~$4.1M (Feb 2025) | ~$5.5M (Oct 2025) |
| Lead Investor | Lifelike Capital | Behold Ventures | – |
| Genre Focus | Survival driving / atmospheric | Open-world action-adventure (UE5) | – |
| Shipped Titles | 1 (Pacific Drive — 1.5M+ units sold) | 0 (debut title VEIL in development) | Not – |
| Publisher | Kepler Interactive | TBD | TBD |
| IP Adaptation | TV series (James Wan) | – | – |
Ironwood demonstrates a strong competitive position supported by an established commercial record, with approximately 1.5 million units sold and a television adaptation currently in development. Such achievements are uncommon for a studio at the seed stage and provide measurable validation of its intellectual property and market acceptance.
Dead Astronauts benefits from senior leadership experience drawn from Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft. However, the studio has not yet released a title, which increases execution risk from an investment perspective. Brain Jar Games has raised a slightly higher level of funding, yet it does not possess the same level of public visibility or proven intellectual property performance as Ironwood.
Techno Trenz’s Takeaway
I think this is a big deal for Ironwood and for the wider independent gaming ecosystem. A $4 million seed round directed toward a 20 person studio that has already delivered a commercially successful title sends a clear investment signal. At the seed stage, capital is often allocated to early concepts with limited market validation. In this case, funding is being placed behind a team with proven execution capability and established consumer demand.
The studio converted a distinctive survival driving concept into 1.5 million unit sales and secured a television adaptation agreement with James Wan. These milestones demonstrate both commercial traction and cross media potential. The investment therefore reflects confidence in an operating model that has already been tested in the market, which materially lowers early stage risk compared to concept driven ventures.
