The new version of eRepublik, a new design to which 1,5M players contributed

Cristina Blanaru Digital & Media, Media

eRepublik launched a new version of the game, eRepublik Rising, based on users’ feedback, according to a press release issued by the company.

eRepublik is a game in which 99% of the content is user generated and 100% of the game-play is based on user interaction.

In 2008, a team of 6 people decided to launch a new game and to complete it over the following 3 years, based on its players behaviour and feedback. Nowadays, eRepublik team has over 50 members, while the game has over 300,000 active citizens and an important community of fans.

eRepublik differentiates from other online games because it is based on social, 99% of the content being generated by users and the game play being based on users interaction and not artificial intelligence, its growth does not depend on social networks but on their virality, which is built in the game’s own concept and mechanics, has one of the highest stickness, players beingin game 13 out of 30 days in a month. More than that, eRepublik offers online gamers a set of unique values, them being able to play in a mirror version of reality.

“It is a mix between a social network, a strategy game and a virtual world with a much deeper experience than actual social games”, Alexis Bonte, co-founder and CEO of eRepublik, said about the game. “It perfectly combines social interaction with fun game play objectives you can only achieve with the help of your friends and other players in the game”, Bonte added.

eRepublik Rising provides users with more tools to change and rewrite the course of history in the New World. “Players will find new strategies, new industries and product customization, new professions, a new war module including new weapons and Player vs Player fights, and an improved time management tool to organize their daily activity”, George Lemnaru, eRepublik co-founder and COO explained.

Many things contributed to the launch of the new version of eRepublik: one year of marketing research, eRepublik Insiders – official in game bulletin with thousands of feedback comments per article, monitoring diverse content related to the game, the Twitter and Facebook accounts.

eRepublik hit the one million citizens’ (registered users) 15 months after releasing its public version and reached the 2 million unique visitors per month in January 2010.

Founded in late 2007, eRepublik Labs Ltd. is based in Dublin (Ireland) and transformed the way strategy games are created, distributed and played by leveraging the power of communities and the Web.

Update:

According to Wall-Street.ro, eRepublik obtained, recently, a Euro 2M financing, from AGF Private Equity, in exchange of a small pack of shares. The money will be used for the technological development of the project, initiated by George Lemnaru and Alexis Bonte, co-founder and CEO eRepublik Labs.

This is the third round of financing attracted by eRepublik, after 2007 (Euro 200,000) and 2008 (Euro 550,000).

eRepublik.com was launched in November 2007 by George Lemnaru, with a financing of Euro 200,000 from Alexis Bonte. Some of eRepublik investors are Brent Hoberman, Stefan Glaenzer, Mihai Crasneanu, Alexandre Almajeanu, Diego Meller, Philippe Seignol and AGF Private Equity.