Mobile-first game developer Sandsoft has opened a new mobile game development studio in Barcelona to recruit local talents and work on first-party titles. The company expects the new studio to grow steadily and create up to 60 new roles in three years as it aims to make Barcelona a key European location.
Alexandre Besenval, who joins the company as VP Studio Barcelona will lead the new development studio which is set to be the company’s European hub as it aims to become a global gaming powerhouse. He will work closely with Sandsoft’s Leadership Team, including EA and Zynga veteran Yahsir Qureshi (VP Studio Riyadh).
David Fernandez, CEO at Sandsoft says, “As a relatively new company, this is an opportunity to be part of making brand-new games and creating new IPs at a time in the industry where new titles are scarce. I can’t think of anyone better to lead this exciting phase of our growth than Alexandre.”
Building its dream team
After joining Sandsoft from Take-Two Interactive subsidiary Socialpoint, Fernandez and COO Pasqual Batalla oversaw the company’s Barcelona office, where it established strong connections with the city’s games industry ecosystem.
“Sandsoft has the ambition to build a truly global and diverse gaming company and I’m excited to play my part. I was instantly impressed by the team’s commitment to creating engaging experiences for players across the world and the opportunity to shape these from an early stage alongside talented colleagues was a big draw,” said Alexandre. “A studio is only as good as its people and we want to surround ourselves with the best talent to build a mobile gaming dream team.”
Barcelona remains a talent hotspot for developers and the company is encouraging applicants of “all experience levels and specialisms” to apply for new roles within the Barcelona office via the careers page.
The move into game development within Studio Barcelona follows many other developers and publishers into the region with Barcelona-based studios now up and running for Scopely, Tripledot, Funplus, Rovio and Netease.
