Metaplay CPO Teemu Haila talks top tips for startups and what NOT to do

• Metaplay CPO Teemu Haila discussed his top tips for new studios at PGC Helsinki 2023
• Thinking about future problems is fine, but trying to solve them too soon can be a waste of resources, Haila believes

Helsinki has long been at the forefront of the global games industry, with a particularly fine heritage in mobile. That's why we've been visiting every year since 2014 for our annual Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki two-day conference.

And this year we're proud to be part of Finnish Games Week, a week of events celebrating gaming activity within the region with PGC Helsinki 2024 taking place on October 1st to 2nd.

And in preparation for our 2024 event, we're taking a look back at just some of the amazing speakers and sessions that took place at PGC Helsinki 2023. 

For more opportunities to network and learn from the big names in games make sure that you're a part of PC Connects Helsinki 2024.

Every games industry giant had to start somewhere, and many fresh-faced startups have ambitions of reaching similar heights, but how can a new developer navigate every obstacle on their way to flipping that big expensive game into a big lucrative earner?

Metaplay CPO Teemu Haila’s answer? "Don’t".

Speaking during Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2023, Haila shared his top three learnings from shipping modern free-to-play games, and advised that small studios should tackle their situation one problem at a time.

"The first thing is finding a game that’s worth making and worth investing in," he said.

"If you go down the route of copying the massive operations of, let’s say, Metacore, no money in the world is going to be enough for a startup. It’s insane. So, find a way around this. It’s perfectly reasonable to pour your resources into resolving things one by one."

Different problems arise at different scales of studio, so there’s no reason to spend time and resources resolving problems as a startup that don’t come into play until you have a hit. Likewise worrying about problems that only the top, highest-grossing game makers will ever encounter.

"Our needs evolve. It’s shocking how many people don’t think about this, and I mean that in the best of ways."

Top three tips

Instead prioritising resources on more immediate issues should be you're first priority: "Think about it now, but don’t do anything about it yet."

From this… To data pipelines… To upgrade paths, Haila’s full presentation goes much more in-depth and explores those learnings in greater detail.

Don't miss his video above and be sure to join us in Helsinki in October via the link below!

Find out more about our next event - Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2024 - and how to register your interest, get tickets and take part, here.