Entity opens up games for the largest global gaming audience by making the  browser a viable alternative to the games console.

DUBLIN, IRELAND: 24th August 2026 - Entity, a new Irish gaming distribution startup, today announced it has completed a €5 million seed round for its next-generation gaming platform which is set to launch in early 2027. Entity has embraced the latest breakthrough web technology to create the home of console-quality games for the “new web” era.  Entity is effectively replacing the need for a dedicated gaming device such as the console or PC for most games: Bringing, for the first time, instant and social game play experiences to the largest global game playing audience without the friction of downloads or installs. Entity delivers a true click and play experience for games players, anytime, anywhere and on any modern browser

The funding round was backed by leading venture capital firms ACT, Delta Partners and Elkstone, supported by Enterprise Ireland and a group of prominent games industry angel investors. Entity’s senior team has a proven track record in building $billion game franchises and multiple high-profile exits. Entity was founded by Rich Barnwell, Kev Bergin, Dave McGovern, Fergus Duggan, and Artur Stawiarski, the same leadership team behind DIGIT, the Irish runaway success story behind Star Trek Fleet Command (acquired by gaming powerhouse Scopely in 2019). They're joined by Head of Games Paul Farley, founder of Firestoke, Tag Games (acquired by Scopely) and ChiliConnect (acquired by Unity).

Entity's platform supports the vast number of game developers who are harnessing the latest web standards, including WebGPU and WebAssembly, to develop console-quality games for the “new web” that can be played directly from the browser. Now, with Entity’s platform, players can jump into a game or multiplayer lobby in seconds from a single link with no downloads and no installs. For developers, Entity provides direct access to the largest possible global audience. 

Rich Barnwell, CEO and Founder of Entity, said: "The way games are made, discovered, and played in the “new web” era is fundamentally changing and these games will need a new home. For too long the industry has been shackled by friction-heavy downloads and arbitrary constraints. With Entity we are bringing the platform that the modern gamer needs: Console-quality gaming experiences instantly accessible on whatever device they are using. With the backing of our new investors and an expert, supportive angel group, Entity delivers a new way to play and a new way to think about the games console experience”. 

The €5 million capital injection will accelerate the further development of Entity's platform and support its launch in 2027 which will feature a broad range of games spanning global best sellers from PC and console through to exciting original new IPs.

About Entity

Entity is the home of console-quality games for the “new web”- home to a new generation of games, where console-quality play is instantly accessible to anyone with a modern browser, without downloads, installs or platform gatekeepers standing in the way. It brings comparable gameplay experience to that of the PC and leading consoles, with the ceiling rising as browser technology advances. This is made possible by breakthroughs in web technologies like WebGPU and WebAssembly, and by improvements of engines and tools, reshaping how games get built. For developers, that means direct access to the largest global audience through a self-publishing and distribution toolset built for the open web. For players, it means the fastest route yet from a single click to actually playing.

Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Entity is led by a team of games industry veterans with a track record of building, scaling and exiting global gaming businesses. The company is backed by ACT, Delta Partners and Elkstone, with support from Enterprise Ireland. For more information, visit entity.gg.

Entity at a glance: 

• Technology: Entity's games run natively on-device in the browser using modern web technologies including WebGL, WebGPU, and WebAssembly. Unlike cloud gaming, which streams video of a game running on a remote server, Entity has no server round trip and no streaming lag.
• Instant access: No large downloads, no installs - Click and Play.
• For developers: Direct access to the largest global gaming audience through a self-publishing and distribution toolset built for the open web.
• The team: Founders and leaders behind $bn+ game franchises and studios including DIGIT (acquired by Scopely) and Chilli Connect (acquired by Unity).
• Backing: €5 million seed round co-led by ACT, Delta Partners and Elkstone with support from Enterprise Ireland and a number of prominent angel investors.
• Launch:  2027, with a lineup spanning global best-sellers from PC and console to original new IP.

Entity FAQ:

What is Entity? 

Entity is a game distribution platform giving a console experience in a web browser.  It is the new home for developers to host and distribute their games to players: no streaming, no downloads, no installs, no app store. Games run natively on a player's device, rendered directly by the browser rather than being streamed from a remote server.

Isn't this just cloud gaming like Google Stadia or GeForce Now? 

No, and this is the single most important distinction to understanding Entity: Cloud and streaming devices (GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, the defunct Stadia) run the game in a remote data centre GPU and stream a video feed to your device, similar to the way Netflix streams a film. Entity's games run natively on your device hardware, There's no data centre rendering the game, no video compression, and no streaming lag, because there is no stream.

Why is this becoming possible now when browser gaming has failed before? (Flash, Facebook games etc.) 

New technologies now available in browsers, such as WebGPU, and the convergence of other  browser technologies maturing in recent years, including WebAssembly, Web Workers and Service Workers is reinvigorating the power of the browser. Combined, they enable performance that allows console experiences to run directly in a browser tab. Engineering teams, including Entity’s, are unlocking what the stack is now capable of. 

Is Entity an open platform or curated? And does that affect how fast you can scale? 

It is curated by design, at least for the next 18 to 24 months. Every title undergoes direct evaluation, source code review, and a hands-on QA and porting process where our team works closely with the developer. This is inherently slower than an open, self-published model, and we are upfront that it constrains near-term title growth. However, we believe it is the right trade-off. It protects the platform from the low-quality content that undermined earlier browser efforts. A more open model is something we may consider once the quality bar and catalog are firmly established. 

What are the first games? Who are the first developers/publishers you are working with?

We're not naming titles today. We're saving that for a dedicated announcement, because these deserve more than a line item in a funding story. What we can say is that Entity is a curated platform, not an open marketplace: every title goes through direct evaluation before it's greenlit (source code review, hands-on QA, a real porting process alongside the development team). That bar has meant we're launching with studios that have shipped, recognised back-catalogues (not first-time developers testing browser tech for the first time). Our first cohort sits in what we internally call the "Triple-I" tier drawn from studios with genuine console and PC pedigree. These best sellers have a strong player base and community elsewhere; part of the thesis is giving proven games meaningful new reach through a distribution channel they don't currently have. We're confident that once the line-up is public, it will speak for itself.

What's the actual benefit for a developer bringing a game to Entity? 

Entity gives developers several benefits. An ease of scale and distribution that they have not been able to achieve on other platforms. Unlike native mobile or console development, publishing for the browser has a materially simpler build test deploy cycle. A very large proportion of the world's software developers already work in JavaScript/TypeScript, meaning that the tooling ecosystem for browser deployment is very mature and tested already. A game built once for the browser runs consistently across Chrome, Edge, Brave and other browsers, as well as the Android and Linux operating systems without separate builds for each platform.

Entity will also give developers a much more cost effective user acquisition to player pathway, as well as visibility of data and player relationships because it is delivered as a direct to consumer model.

You talk about the “new web”. What does that mean?

The "new web" is the era where the browser is finally powerful enough to run console-calibre games directly on a player’s own device, from the moment they click on a link. It is the browser reimagined as a native gaming platform - not the ad-funded, Flash-era browser of the noughties and not a video stream from a data centre.

What is the technical distinction over the “old web”?

The “new Web” refers to a browser environment that has transformed in recent years, through the convergence of several technologies. Those are:

• Web Assembly
• Web GPU
• Web Workers
• Service Workers
• Together, these have reached enough combined maturity to run native-grade game code inside a browser tab, delivering console-calibre depth without relying on ad-driven monetisation or simplified casual gameplay. It is distinct from two things people often confuse it with:

• The old web of Flash games and Facebook-era casual titles, which were technically limited and monetised through advertising
• Cloud/streaming gaming (Stadia, GeForce Now, Amazon Luna), where a data center renders the game and streams video to the player

In the new web, nothing is streamed. The game runs natively on the device itself, with the browser simply acting as the delivery and execution environment.