Vela Games, the Dublin-based studio established in 2018 by a group of former Riot and EA developers, has raised $17.3 million in Series A funding to build out its debut title. 

The funding round was led by Novator with additional investment from Ubisoft and LVP, and will allow Vela to continue working on 'Project-V,' its codenamed debut release that's being pitched as a skill-based co-operative experience in the newly defined 'Multiplayer Online Co-Operative' (MOCO) genre.

Vela had previously raised $6.9 million to build a 25-person development team to refine its design, and the latest funding round comes after the company successfully launched its first public play testing period earlier this year. 

The new investment will allow Vela to continue expanding its team, with the company having added talent from Blizzard, Epic, Riot, and Moon Studios in recent months, while also providing financial support ahead of a secondary test phase later this year.