It looks like someone didn't want word to get out that Time Warner Inc. [TWX] is backing Turbine Inc., the massive multiplayer online role-playing game developer. When Turbine disclosed on Wednesday that it had raised $40 million in its second funding round, its announcement looked exactly like other reports from about a month ago that had listed all of Turbine's latest backers--except for Time Warner.
That could be an honest oversight, of course. Then again, Time Warner is a pretty big name to forget. Also, Turbine, whose games include The Lord of the Rings Online, has in the past been caught being somewhat cagey about VC funding, going so far as to deny the existence of funding packages that were in the works or had already closed.
In any event, now it's official. Time Warner was the lead backer in the company's third funding round, which brings the total Turbine has raised to $88 million. Other VC backers in the company include Granite Global Ventures, Tudor Ventures of Boston, Highland Capital Partners, Columbia Capital and Polaris Ventures. -- Andrea Orr
See June 4 funding announcement from Turbine
See May 1 story on Turbine funding from VentureBeat
Continue reading below
