Tilting Point opens a mobile game studio in Russia

Tilting Point has opened a new studio in St. Petersburg, Russia, as part of its effort to establish a multidisciplinary team to work on a variety of new and existing titles in the company’s portfolio of free-to-play mobile games.

The move is one more example of how global mobile gaming has become, and it comes just a week after New York-based Tilting Point said it would spend $10 million to market the dating simulator Dangerous Fellows, a game from South Korean developer Storytaco. Tilting Point has become one of the most prolific dealmakers in the industry.

As part of the acquisition of FTX Games earlier this year, Tilting Point established a foothold in St. Petersburg. The studio has 20 people now, and it will expand by hiring more professionals across all disciplines. Tilting Point provides marketing services for games, and it also makes games or manages third-party studios making games.

Tilting Point Russia joins a global network of studios around the world, such as outposts in Kyiv, Seoul, Barcelona, San Diego, and New York. This move also comes a little more than a month after Tilting Point said it would invest $40 million to fund user acquisition for South Korean game publisher JoyCity to market the mobile strategy game Gunship Battle: Total Warfare.

Last year, Tilting Point acquired free-to-play mobile games and assets from gambling technology software firm Playtech including San Diego-based FTX Games, known for publishing Narcos: Cartel Wars, The Walking Dead: Slots, and Criminal Minds: The Mobile Game. Additional acquisitions for Tilting Point in 2020 include hit titles such as Star Trek: Timelines and TerraGenesis. Tilting Point also launched SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off, which achieved over 14 million pre-registrations on the Google Play store alone.

I asked Samir El Agili, president of Tilting Point, if he was concerned about having a studio in Russia, which has had tense relations with the U.S. recently.

“The political situation is not a concern; Tilting Point’s goal is to continue expanding internationally and publish great games,” he said in an email to GamesBeat. “We are a very international company and are looking for the most talented people in the world, no matter where they live.”

Tilting Point has more than 150 people.