Sandsoft has hired Madbox, Socialpoint and Gameloft veteran Alexandre Besenval to lead a new studio in Barcelona, which is focused on “creating innovative, accessible core social games that bring people together”.
Sandsoft has had an office in Barcelona since January 2022, and already has ties to the local ecosystem through ex-King Barcelona leader David Fernandez and ex-Socialpoint exec Pasqual Batalla, Sandsoft’s CEO and COO respectively.
Sandsoft says its new Barcelona studio will become the company’s “European hub”, and will grow to around 60 staff over the next three years.
Alexandre Besenval is the former head of new games and studio manager at Madbox, and has previously worked as VP of product at Socialpoint and studio manager at Gameloft. “Sandsoft has the ambition to build a truly global and diverse gaming company and I’m excited to play my part,” he said.
“I was instantly impressed by the team’s commitment to creating engaging experiences for players across the world and the opportunity to shape these from an early stage alongside talented colleagues was a big draw. A studio is only as good as its people and we want to surround ourselves with the best talent to build a mobile gaming dream team.”
As we’ve reported before, Sandsoft CEO David Fernandez has a five-year plan for the Riyadh-based firm to become a global player to rank alongside EA, Activision, Tencent and NetEase.
The firm also plans to expand into one more territory every year, and is on the hunt for acquisitions and investments. Sandsoft’s financial backer, a Saudi-based family, is “fully supportive” and “thinking really long-term” about investment, we were told.
