New Studio SOCIAL FIRST Founded With a $2.5 Million Pre-seed Investment to Create Cross-Platform Social Games
Team of industry veterans set to create a new wave of cross-platform social multiplayer games to last for decades, backed by Play Ventures and Joakim Achrén.
Helsinki, January 2022
Finnish game studio Social First, founded in late 2021 by games industry veterans Kim Soares and Mikko Kähärä, plans to create highly social multiplayer games that can be enjoyed for decades. The company has secured a $2.5 million pre-seed investment, backed by Play Ventures, and a syndicate led by Joakim Achrén.
The Social First team is formed of games industry veterans, with a combined 100+ years of experience in the industry with dozens of titles shipped. Most of the team have worked together on previous projects, with successes at studios such as Kukouri, Paradox Interactive, Nitro Games, Ubisoft and Housemarque.
The team is well versed in developing and managing cross-platform social MMOs - Creating games that encourage meaningful interaction and connection between the players and has first-hand experience in how to foster long-term retention and virality through game design, community management and marketing. Social First has ambitious plans to grow fast in the coming years and deliver titles that will create lasting and meaningful social experiences to fans of multiplayer games.
“Social gaming is growing rapidly and our team is very experienced in creating social cross-platform games with strong communities that enable people all over the world to form friendships that can last a lifetime. Combining that into games that are designed to be played for a decade or more, and taking into account other new and emerging technological possibilities, we saw an opportunity to ride a perfect storm and really make a huge impact in the games industry” says CEO Kim Soares.
“We’re thrilled to be backing Kim and Mikko and their impressive team”, says Play Ventures Founding Partner Harri Manninen. “The social games market has grown massively in recent years, with people finding more meaningful connections globally through engaging social gameplay. Social First are approaching this opportunity with decades of know-how and the proven ability to scale cross-platform social MMOs. We believe that Social First will play a major role in defining the next big trend in gaming”
“I’m thrilled to invest in Social First with my angel syndicate. Both Kim and Mikko are exceptional game founders and it’s awesome to be on this journey with them and giving them all the support that I can”, says syndicate lead Joakim Achrén.
The Social First team will be attending the Pocket Gamer Connects conference on 14th-15th February 2022 in London. If you are interested in arranging a meeting or would like to find out more about their recruitment process, you can get in touch with the team at sophie.riordan@socialfirstgames.com or via their website.
About Social First
Social First is a team of accomplished game developers who have formed an independent studio based in Helsinki, Finland. CEO Kim Soares and President Mikko Kähärä founded Social First in 2021 with the mission to create games that are social experiences, span decades and extend beyond gaming; giving players platforms to create meaningful relationships with people all across the world. The team is backed by Play Ventures and a syndicate led by Joakim Achrén. For more information on Social First and their work, please contact Sophie Riordan, PR & Communications, at sophie.riordan@socialfirstgames.com. For their press kit, click here.
About Play Ventures
Play Ventures is the leading early stage gaming venture capital firm with offices in Singapore and Helsinki, Finland. Founded by gaming industry veterans Henric Suuronen and Harri Manninen, who have made successful exits to King and Disney respectively, Play Ventures invests globally in pre-seed and seed stage gaming startups and focuses on free-to-play, and play-and-earn mobile and PC opportunities, as well as gaming services startups. For more information, please visit www.playventures.vc
