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PlayHaven opens European office, headed by ex-Rovio SVP Heijari

Angry Bird man flies nest

PlayHaven opens European office, headed by ex-Rovio SVP Heijari
It's full speed ahead for US mobile monetisation outfit PlayHaven.

Following on from its $8 million funding round in November 2013, and gaining ex-Googler Charles Yim as COO, it's now opening its first European office.

Heading up the move is Ville Heijari, who was previously SVP of marketing at Angry Birds developer Rovio.

"I joined Rovio when it was just 15 people, so I've seen how important cross-promotion and marketing is for developers," Heijari explains.

"Of course, you need a great game, but understanding your audience and better engaging with them is also key. That's where the market is going now."

X marks the spot

PlayHaven's European office will open in Helsinki, although it's likely to move to a more central location - "somewhere between Ireland and Israel" quips Yim.

"We're looking to work with the best developers in Europe and our first task is to raise awareness about what PlayHaven can offer," he adds.

Of course, Europe is only the starting point for PlayHaven's global expansion, with the 70-strong San Francisco outfit looking to raise its headcount to 150 by the end of year, with potential offices opening in Asia and Latin America.

"We have ambitious plan for growth," Yim comments, of the monetisation platform which currently spans 4,000 mobile games, 460 million unique users, 115 million monthly active users, and more than 2 billion monthly sessions.

You can see PlayHaven's open job positions here.

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.