Helsinki studio Phantom Gamelabs is the latest firm to join Supercell’s growing gang of investee companies.
Phantom Gamelabs has received an undisclosed amount of seed funding from the Clash of Clans maker to build out its forthcoming ‘looter shooter’ game, and will be focused on making ‘social midcore’ games, it said.
The Helsinki studio is led by CEO Sonja Ängeslevä, the former product lead at Zynga Helsinki who has also served as product director at Unity and product manager at Digital Chocolate.
She’s joined by three other cofounders: technical director Vilppu Tuominen, formerly Kopla Games’ CEO and cofounder and lead game programmer at Rovio; creative director Janne Louhivaara, former design leader at Lightheart Entertainment, Kopla Games and Rovio; and art director Zuzana Malta, a former 3D artist at Dazzle Rocks and Zynga.
The studio said it’ll now use the Supercell investment to expand its core team and continue game development. It also said it is looking forward to working with Supercell and its investee companies to “learn and experiment to better understand players’ needs.”
“We are makers, motivated to build great experiences for players to enjoy,” said Phantom Gamelabs CEO Sonja Ängeslevä. “We want to make it possible for everyone that joins our team to get empowered by the team around them and leave their mark on great game experiences.”
Supercell investments lead Jaakko Harlas added: “We are delighted to invest in Phantom Gamelabs and welcome them to our community. We have always championed exceptional teams, and this talented founding team boasts an outstanding history of developing games that captivate global audiences. With their extensive experience and a compelling vision for revolutionising mobile games and the looter shooter genre, we are eager to embark on this journey alongside the team.”
Supercell has been quietly investing in a host of new start-ups in the five years since its last global launch Brawl Stars, including HypeHype, Oxalis and Ultimate Game Studio.
It has also upped its stake in UK studios Space Ape and Trailmix, and another investee studio Metacore recently took ownership of former Supercell soft launch game Everdale.
Supercell is also building out its new US studios, which will focus on making cross-platform games.
