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From startup to consolidation in 2 months: Next Games buys Helsinki Gameworks

The Walking Dead dev gains talent and original IP

Date Type Companies involved Size
October 30th, 2014 acquisition Helsinki GameWorks
Next Games
Not disclosed
From startup to consolidation in 2 months: Next Games buys Helsinki Gameworks

The pace of the mobile games industry in Finland now appears to be so fast that Helsinki Gameworks has gone from its startup announcement to acquisition within two months. 

Set up by 12 veterans from Rovio, Remedy, Digital Chocolate, and Guerrilla Games to develop midcore F2P games, Helsinki Gameworks has been acquired by fellow Helsinki startup Next Games.

It - in turn - was set up by veterans from Rovio, Supercell and Disney, and with a more than $6 million in Series A funding and a The Walking Dead game in development for AMC, is keen to bulk up its manpower.

Terms of the deal weren't announced, although it was noted that following the acquisition Next Games' headcount is boosted to 45.

Mix and match

Next Games justified the move by explaining that Helsinki Gameworks' original games will be complimentary to its thirdparty IP.

Indeed, the two companies first got together when member of Helsinki Gameworks collaborated with Next Games earlier in 2014.

One result of the deal is that Gameworks' CEO Kalle Kaivola - who previously worked on titles such as Angry Birds Go - becomes Next Games' Head of Licensed Games, and will oversee the development of The Walking Dead: No Man's Land.

The sort of fun you get up to at Next Games

"I am extremely pleased to welcome Helsinki GameWorks' employees to become a part of the Next Games family," said Next Games' CEO Teemu Huuhtanen.

"At Next Games we've focused on two key areas from the very beginning: building a robust portfolio and rock solid roadmap of games as well as ensuring we have an experienced team working on it.

"Joining forces is a logical move, as our first games will launch very soon and the next productions are being ramped up. The veteran team and IP from Helsinki GameWorks will be a huge asset."

And despite the deal, Next Games is still hiring

Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.