Company description
Playfish is a social games company that creates games for people to play together.
Founded in October 2007 by casual and mobile games veterans and backed by $3M in seed funding, we believe games are more fun when played with friends and family. So we are working on combining the best elements of casual games, social networks, MMOGs and virtual worlds to create entirely new, more social ways of enjoying great games together.
Traditional computer games focus on standalone game play on consoles, your PC or on your mobile. Games that do allow you to play together with others online normally require you to buy the game, go online and try and find like-minded new friends who are also playing the game. This is something that usually only the most dedicated gamers are prepared to do.
Our social games are different. Social games allow you to play together with real-world friends and family using the infrastructure built by social networks. This is in some ways a return to the roots of games. You play with the same people you would play cards, board games or go bowling with in the real world. Sharing the game experience with friends makes it more compelling and fun.
At Playfish we believe social games are a big part of the future of the video games industry, and are working hard to be the leading company in this emerging sector.
Playfish is headquartered in London, UK with offices in Beijing, China and Tromsø, Norway.
Team
Kristian Segerstråle (CEO):
Prior to Playfish Kristian served as Managing Director of Europe of Glu Mobile (Nasdaq: GLUU), and was a co-founder of Glu Mobile Europe (Macrospace Ltd) in 2001. As Managing Director of Europe Kristian was responsible for the rapid growth of Glu's European business, the integration of iFone Ltd in 2006 as well as being a contributor to the company's successful IPO in Q1 2007. During his 6-year tenure at Glu, Kristian was a driving force in the creation of more than 40 mobile titles including chart topping 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' and multi-award winners such as the 'Ancient Empires' series. During his time at Glu Kristian was also responsible for forging relationships with key Glu brand partners including Konami, Celador, Codemasters and Cartoon Network. Kristian has been on the GDC Mobile advisory board since 2006 and was voted one of top-50 most influential executives in Mobile Entertainment in December 2006 in ME Magazine. He holds an MSc from London School of Economics and an MA (Cantab) in Economics from Cambridge University.
