Venture studio ELO appoints games economist Joost van Dreunen as strategic advisor

• The former SuperData CEO to help ELO shape new community-driven models for the games industry.
• ELO says the appointment strengthens its vision of community-led innovation in games.

Venture studio and innovation hub ELO has appointed Joost van Dreunen as its new strategic advisor. 

Dreunen is a renowned video games industry economist and author of One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games. He is also a lecturer at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

He co-founded and led SuperData Research, later acquired by Nielsen in 2018, and now writes the SuperJoost Playlist newsletter on games, tech, and entertainment. 

In his new role, Dreunen will help ELO develop insights for studios on the value of community empowerment, leveraging his entrepreneurial experience and advisory background to guide the company’s growth and vision.

Community-led innovation 

The appointment reinforces the company’s goal of empowering game communities worldwide through its agency and venture initiatives.

“The games business is at an inflexion point," said Joost van Dreunen. "The $220B global games market is under pressure as publishers cut costs and traditional growth stalls. 

“The future of games will be defined by community-led innovation and new publishing models. ELO is at the forefront of this shift. I'm excited about ELO's mission and am keen to contribute my perspective on data and economics to support their vision." 

ELO co-founder Wouter Sleijffers commented: “We are thrilled to have Joost on board as a Strategic Advisor. Few people in the industry have such a fundamental, data-driven, micro and macro-understanding of games and the games industry."