NetEase sees promise in Finnish developer Reforged Studios’ ‘West Coast-style startup’

Two interesting bits of game funding news hit my inbox the other day. Both involved separate Asian companies leading a funding round for Finland-based game developers, who happened to not have a previous title in their portfolio. But both development houses have a team filled with experienced talent.

I don’t know if this is just a wild coincidence, or if I am just seeing the tip of an Asian rush on Finnish developers this week. I mean, it is only Tuesday, after all.

Wanting a little clearer picture on the NetEase investment in Reforged Studios, I poked CEO Teemu Vilen and NetEase’s assistant vice president, Amy Huang.

GamesBeat: I don’t see any titles under Reforged Studios. The studio name sounds familiar. Have you released something, and I am just not seeing it?

Teemu Vilen: I was amazed that the cool, resonating name we wanted was free. Sounds like it should exist, right? And now, it does!

We take something old, like our love for competitive and skill-based core games, our experience at studios like Riot Games, EA, Games Workshop, Blizzard, DICE, CCP Games, and LucasArts — and look at how we can hammer something fresh and amazing out of it. The studio was founded in 2015, and we have our first game in production.

GamesBeat: Can you guys say anything about the project Reforged Studios is working on?

Vilen: The first Reforged game will be an epic fantasy army battler, initially for mobile platforms, and will launch later in 2016. Beyond that, we haven’t announced any other details yet.

GamesBeat: Are both the U.S. and Finnish studios working on the same title?

Vilen: We’re fashioning Reforged to be an artisan workshop of highly talented craftsmen building deep and rich experiences … rich franchises. We believe we can build franchises as strong and resonating as, say, Star Wars or Lord of the Rings — through games.

To do that, we take the long view, look at global gaming trends, and also build towards what people are missing: what we as gamers want. As such, we put a lot of focus on a single game at a time, as we understand the effort, time, and patience it requires.

GamesBeat: What are L.A.’s and Helsinki’s roles? Are they different?

Vilen: A lot of our core game development is in Helsinki. The developer community and the spirit here is amazing, and it is very unique.

Our team worked at studios in L.A., San Francisco, and Vancouver … and we bring in a lot of product, brand and leadership experience from there. We like to think of ourselves as a West Coast-style startup in Helsinki, with a global perspective.

Having access to both major game dev hubs is also great for accessing the top tier talent and services we need to hit the quality we want. The design vision and core game is lead in Helsinki by our COO Tuomas Pirinen, while our CTO Marko Kylmamaa leads the technical side of production from LA.

GamesBeat: Was NetEase specifically interested in funding this one project or in the entire studio?

Amy Huang: NetEase is interested in funding Reforge Studios as a whole, and were initially attracted to Reforged by the collective pedegree and experience of the founding team.

Following our previous early-stage VC investments in the games space — including Counterplay Games, Red Accent Studios, and Motiga — the investment in Reforged is another key step toward our goal of globalization and bringing the success we have seen in Asia westward.

For Reforged Studios, this investment will provide production resources for current and future projects as well as aid in recruitment efforts in both Los Angeles and Helsinki.