“It’s early days, and the one thing I can say is that real-time games are quite difficult,” Raeburn said. Supercell. Raeburn worked as an early employee and game creator at Space Ape Games, maker of Samurai Siege, before the company was acquired by Supercell. Supercell has been among the most aggressive mobile game investors, as the Helsinki, Finland-based company is still printing money with its Clash Royale and Clash of Clans games. During lockdown, he decided to start a game studio, which was how he met Knast. » See latest About a year ago, Raeburn made the move back to his native New Zealand. Above: 2Up Games is based in New Zealand. “One of the most important things we’ve learned is allowing players to have a pause in the action so that they can look and see what their partner is doing and what they need. Raeburn started the company six months ago with former Magic Leap developer Tim Knauf, and the two didn’t meet in person for the first five months they worked together. This further proof of the funding frenzy games have enjoyed during the pandemic, driven in large part by heightened use. 2Up cofounder Joe Raeburn said in an interview with GamesBeat that the company strongly believes co-op games can make the world a better place, particularly as people struggle with isolation during lockdown. Supercell is investing $2.8 million in New Zealand game studio 2Up Games, which is working on a co-op mobile game. Clash of Clans, a freemium mobile strategy game, is among the most popular titles from Supercell that were to found to have infringed patents of Japanese company Gree. Raeburn said the company talked to a few game funds but decided Supercell offered the biggest opportunity. He noted that another bright spot is that game companies no longer need to have a head office that can lord it over their satellite offices. Photo: Handout Makers of Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars. “So we came up with this focus on real-time co-op games, ones that you can play for years,” Raeburn said. Knast previously founded Launching Pad Games, and he worked with Magic Leap and Weta Workshop on Dr. Grordbort’s Invaders, which was one of my favorite games of 2018. “We want to bring back that sense of connecting with someone through an experience you share. Our Games Because when you do that, you see the situation they are in. If it’s nonstop action all of the time, you don’t even know what your partner is doing.”. Best practices for designing and managing your subscription strategy. Supercell developer relations lead Jaakko Harlas noted that this is the first time Supercell has invested in a New Zealand startup. He also believes humans aren’t always great at cooperation and need more practice. » See all games See all games. The company has two full-time people and two contractors and is outsourcing art for the game to external companies. Supercell has been among the most aggressive mobile game investors, as the Helsinki, Finland-based company is still printing money with its Clash Royale and Clash of Clans games. Get the most out of your game’s subscription plans ... still mean that the company is printing money. Supercell chief Ilkka Paananen said in February that the company of 300 employees recorded a profit of US$577 million on revenue of US$1.56 billion last year. Raeburn said 2Up has developed a prototype idea but isn’t ready to talk about it yet. “But too often the games are too short.”. In the past nine months, game studios have seen more than 100 investments. “Tim and I came together talking about our shared love of co-op games,” Raeburn said. Supercell has been among the most aggressive. You feel like two humans that have done something together, as opposed to humans that have battled.”. Even after eight years, Clash of Clans ranks in the top 5 most popular strategy games in the iPhone App Store. This started them thinking about games designed for co-op from the ground up. Raeburn said his first co-op memory was playing Silkworm with his best friend on the Amiga computer, while Knast has enjoyed multiplayer point-and-click adventure games. Farm, Clash, Boom, Battle, Brawl! Raeburn said the company is hiring now and that thanks to the pandemic it can hire people anywhere in the world. Games. And Supercell has only 323 employees, compared to console game …