Interview

Rovio: Most games for our publishing label are 'found at conferences'

Call for indies to get out and about

Rovio: Most games for our publishing label are 'found at conferences'

Rovio's senior manager of publishing Matthew Wilson has claimed the Finnish firm finds most of the prospects for its Rovio Stars publishing labels at industry conferences, calling on indies to get their games out and about at events.

Speaking to PocketGamer.biz during Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki last week, Wilson said Rovio also takes a sweep of games sites such as Pocket Gamer to see what games are up and coming.

Quality not quantity

Elsewhere in the interview, Wilson said Rovio is only looking to push out "five to ten" free-to-play games a year under its Rovio Stars label, with the firm looking to find the right games for its brand.

"If you want to work with us, you really need games with strong characters and a good narrative," added Wilson, pointing to Rovio's penchant for releasing merchandise based around iconic IP.

"It's about building the universe pivot. If you think about Lord of the Rings, everything revolves around the Ring, and if you think of The Matrix everything revolves around The Matrix. It's about having the right universe pivot that you can build a brand around if the game succeeds."

You can catch up with the rest of our content from Pocket Gamer Connects here.


With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.