Bournemouth studio raises £600k to develop Touchdown Poker, American football‑themed card games
This article covers Ace High Sports, a Bournemouth gaming startup, which has closed a £600k funding round to build a portfolio of sports-led card video games. The funding will support development of its first title, Touchdown Poker, and expansion of the studio ahead of a 2026 launch, targeting players on PC and mobile and illustrating regional early-stage investment in the UK games ecosystem.
Ace High Sports, a Bournemouth gaming startup, has closed a £0.6 million funding round to build a portfolio of sports-led card video games. The round includes a £300,000 equity investment from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund, via fund manager The FSE Group, alongside private investors and grant support from the UK Games Content Fund. The cash will fund development of the studio’s first title, Touchdown Poker, and expand the team ahead of a 2026 launch.
Why it matters
The deal is notable for two reasons. First, it shows continued flows of early-stage capital into UK game development outside London, with targeted regional funds helping bridge financing gaps for creative businesses. Second, Ace High Sports is aiming at a niche that mixes sports and card mechanics — a relatively underexplored area that could attract both sports fans and card‑game players if the design and retention economics work.
Market context matters too: the global video games market is projected to generate around $600 billion in annual revenue by 2030, and publishers and studios that successfully blend familiar mechanics with novel hooks can scale across PC and mobile distribution channels.
Inside the product
Ace High Sports plans to launch Touchdown Poker in 2026. The title combines elements of Texas Hold’em with American football rules and pacing, presenting a card‑strategy core wrapped in sports themes. The studio positions the game to appeal to players who enjoy bluffing and competitive scoring, with plans for cross‑platform releases on PC and mobile.
Touchdown Poker is the company’s lead IP and a test case for its broader portfolio strategy: develop compact, replayable card-based sports games that can be iterated and monetised across several releases. That approach reduces upfront production risk compared with large-scale AAA projects, but success will hinge on player acquisition, retention and in‑game monetisation.
Who are the investors?
The round comprises three funding sources. The British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund has provided £300,000 in equity via its appointed fund manager, The FSE Group. The remainder of the £0.6 million round comes from private investors and additional grant funding provided by the UK Games Content Fund.
The South West Investment Fund is designed to increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for smaller businesses in the South West of England. It offers a mix of commercial finance including smaller loans from £25,000 to £100,000, debt finance from £100,000 to £2 million, and equity investments up to £5 million. The fund’s stated aim is to support innovation, local jobs and access to finance for firms that might otherwise struggle to attract investment.
In the announcement, Matt Browning, Investment Manager at The FSE Group, said:
Ace High Sports demonstrates the qualities we look for in a growth business: experienced leadership, innovative product design, and a scalable commercial model. With strong advisory support, scalable plans, and validation from the UK Games Content Fund, the company is well-positioned to capitalise on growth in the creative industries, and we are excited to be working with them as they grow.
In the announcement, Paul Jones, British Business Bank, said:
The creative industries, including games development, is an important growth sector in the South West, and Ace High Sports is a good example of the innovative, high-potential businesses the South West Investment Fund was set up to support. Our investment will help Ace High Sports accelerate development while supporting skilled job creation here in the region. We’re delighted to back their ambition and look forward to seeing the company scale and succeed.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Mike Hawkyard, Ace High Sports CEO and Co-founder, said:
This investment is a major step forward for Ace High Sports. With support from the South West Investment Fund, FSE and our other investors, we can scale the business, grow our team and bring Touchdown Poker to life across multiple platforms. Our goal is to create games that feel instantly familiar yet completely fresh, and this funding allows us to make that happen. Touchdown Poker is just the beginning of a portfolio that will redefine how audiences engage with sports and traditional card games.
Hawkyard’s comments underline the studio’s focus on original IP and a small‑team development model. The next 12–18 months will be telling: how the studio uses the capital to build playable prototypes, attract players and set up distribution and live‑ops will determine whether the concept gains traction.
The bigger picture
Regional investment vehicles and matched grant programmes like the UK Games Content Fund are increasingly important for the UK games ecosystem. They help nascent studios progress from concept to early release without relying solely on London‑based investors or larger publishers. For the broader games market, niche hybrids — in this case sports plus card mechanics — can succeed if they find a clear audience and deliver strong retention.
This deal also highlights how smaller equity tickets and grants can de‑risk early creative development and support job creation in regions such as the South West, where the games sector has been growing but still needs more access to capital.
The funding round for Ace High Sports is one of several recent regional investments into UK game studios and will be worth watching as a signal of whether specialised, genre‑hybrid games can scale from modest starts to sustainable businesses across the UK and Europe.
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