HispanicBusiness

Entrepreneur Andrew Busey has teamed up with Chaotic Moon Studios, the Austin-based app developer, to launch a mobile gaming startup called Team Chaos.

This week the company released its first title -- a free-to-play collectible card game called "Elements: Broken Lands." The game, which is available in Apple's App store, lets users engage in dynamic quests, battle in competitive online games and buy and sell cards.

Team Chaos said it has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Chaotic Moon and individuals including Busey and Chaotic Moon executives.

Busey said Team Chaos is responding to an industry shift taking place in which gamers are moving away from traditional consoles and PCs to smartphones and tablets.

"There are mobile games that are making tons of money, but they aren't designed for the iPhone and the experience and visuals are not great," he said. "We want to build the next generation of collectible card games by raising the quality level. Our past experience combined with the amazing advancement in mobile technology has allowed us to build a visually stunning game that is both accessible and deeply strategic."

Busey was one of the first wave of Austin entrepreneurs to build venture-based Internet startups in the mid 1990s. His company iChat was a Web-based chat system and one of the first instant messaging systems. It was acquired by Avaya for an undisclosed amount.

Busey's most recent effort was Challenge Games, which he founded in 2006 to create free Web- and social-network-based games.

Challenge, which raised $15 million from Silicon Valley venture firms Globespan Capital Partners and Sequoia Capital, was acquired by social media gaming giant Zynga for an undisclosed amount in 2010.

Chaotic Moon, founded in 2010, develops apps for clients including CBS, Disney, Fox, General Mills, Microsoft and Pizza Hut. It has 60 employees.

Last month, talent agency William Morris Endeavor announced that it has acquired a stake in Chaotic Moon and said the two firms will work together to enhance existing mobile offerings and create new ones.

Chaotic Moon CEO Ben Lamm said his company "has always wanted to expand into mobile gaming. Partnering with Andrew on the creation of Team Chaos is an opportunity we couldn't pass up because of his amazing passion, product ideas and track record."

Team Chaos has 10 employees and is currently working out of Chaotic Moon's headquarters off of South Congress Avenue. The company plans to release additional games this year.

"I had not planned to do another startup, but conversations with Chaotic Moon and the pace of mobile gaming advancement got me super excited," Busey said. "We are truly making games that we want to play. We're not building the company to be sold. It's designed to generate money and grow and be sustainable."