ELO, a brand new group constructing studio led by esports and gaming veterans Roald van Buuren and Wouter Sleijffers, has formally launched.
Based mostly in London, England, ELO mentioned it’s centered on placing the group again on the coronary heart of video video games by constructing bridges between recreation creators and recreation communities. ELO works with recreation studios, manufacturers and capital to boost the out-of-game gaming expertise, develop communities and supply actual options in gaming tradition and innovation.
As studios attempt to create compelling video games for audiences, ELO will work straight with builders and publishers to create and execute community-focused go-to-market methods that may play a pivotal position in a recreation’s success after launch.
ELO is constructed on three core rules: to serve, create, and put money into gaming communities. That’s as a result of ELO believes within the energy of the group and that video games are made for the gamers.
To emphasise that, ELO has launched its ‘#PowerToTheGamer’ marketing campaign to bolster ELO’s perception within the energy of the group earlier than, throughout and after a recreation’s launch.
“People have all the time craved emotional connections and a way of belonging,” mentioned Roald van Buuren, cofounder of ELO, in an announcement. “And whereas conventional methods of group are slowly disappearing, gaming has grow to be the brand new city sq. for individuals to share experiences and construct reminiscences.”
Van Buuren added, “However all too typically, resulting from numerous causes, the early focus from a studio is absolutely on the event of the sport, reasonably than the way it can interact gamers. At ELO, our purpose is to symbolize the voice of the group whereas supporting builders by main their go-to-market group technique and execution so the builders can proceed to give attention to constructing nice video games.”
Since February 2024, ELO has been in stealth mode, working with business leaders in gaming, and listening to the group, to determine an important subjects and points dealing with studios and publishers.
ELO stands for “empowering gaming communities,” the founders mentioned.
“Therefore our marketing campaign message ‘Energy to the Gamer’ to bolster what we stand for. We imagine that, partly because of the huge development of the video games business, stress on supply, and over-reliance on quick time period metrics and campaigns, a vital elementary of any recreation began to grow to be simply one other advertising and marketing factor: the group,” the founders mentioned.
Now, the group is able to escape and convey its deep experience in group constructing to the forefront. All video games have the potential to construct sturdy communities, however step one is ensuring {that a} group is prioritized, fostered and given the muse to constantly develop, the corporate mentioned.
“Over the previous few months, we’ve leveraged our networks to have interaction with individuals all through the business and from these conversations, one theme was constant: group participation from origination to maturity has grow to be an afterthought,” mentioned Wouter Sleijffers, cofounder of ELO, in an announcement. ”This is because of numerous causes, whether or not it’s investor stress or lack of sources. However with ELO, we’re offering another and supporting studios and publishers by guaranteeing the group is getting as a lot consideration as the sport itself.”
ELO Group and its subsidiaries are primarily based in the UK (London) and Qatar (Doha). The corporate has 5 individuals. ELO collaborates with proficient individuals in content material, improvement, manufacturing, capital. The corporate additionally works with a number of proficient founders and companies on co-creations / productions and joint ventures that concentrate on its mission to empower gaming communities.
The founders mentioned that in latest months the conversations with totally different stakeholders resulted in a recurring theme: the battle of present recreation studios to see sustained curiosity and traction for his or her recreation, regardless of the ‘tried and examined’ person acquisition and engagement ways.
Much more so, the rising lack of valuing the group not solely as numbers, shoppers or gamers however as actual contributors of the sport improvement, development and total expertise.
“With ELO, we took this challenge at its core and ‘nailed’ our objective to the significance of the group,” the founders mentioned. “We don’t like to consider ourselves as simply offering a short lived service. We’re right here to empower the group creating ‘out-of-game’ experiences which in return empowers the sport studios to give attention to creating the ‘in-game’ experiences.”
ELO acknowledges these elements and motivates recreation studios to suppose and construct on the ‘out-of-game’ expertise as a lot as they give thought to the in-game expertise, however we perceive there are time and experience constraints, so we’re right here to help them.
The title ELO pertains to the rating system first utilized in chess and now prevalent in gaming, initially designed by Arpad Elo. The deeper which means of the phrase is that we imagine that ‘rating up’ just isn’t one thing you may simply purchase. ELO stands for group empowerment by means of experiences, participation and innovation. There aren’t any short-cuts to rating up.
Empowering gaming communities
“We do that by ‘serving, creating and investing’. We serve recreation studios, we create our personal group IP, and we help tech tasks we imagine in with time and capital funding,” the founders mentioned. “Whereas this may increasingly sound bold, we do imagine that these three actions go hand-in-hand. Our inspiration for ELO is the place of innovation, the group creativity and the sense of belonging and sharing that’s so prevalent on this ‘digital arts and crafts’ motion.”
Via private expertise, finding out on the largest successes within the gaming and digital house and lots of conversations with each struggling and profitable recreation studios, the development they observed was that group has been put on the forefront of the expertise.
“This isn’t our first job, nor our first enterprise. However it’s the first enterprise we began collectively since we have now a radical ardour in bringing again the relevance and significance of recreation communities,” the founders mentioned. “This isn’t nostalgia. We’re half of a bigger evolution in a digital-first world, led by gaming, the place communities usually are not simply shoppers however self-organizing contributors, co-creators and co-owners. And we do imagine that ELO has a novel view and method in that development. “
Video games have grow to be the brand new city squares, playgrounds and sports activities golf equipment. They’re the gathering locations the place friendships are constructed and cultures are created. But the truth is, communities are sometimes left as an afterthought. They’re left to kind within the margins as an alternative of being positioned on the coronary heart of gaming.
“We really feel we as professionals within the gaming business have an obligation to construct optimistic locations of belonging for subsequent generations,” the founders mentioned.
ELO exists to construct bridges between recreation creators and recreation communities. It crafts experiences and shapes relevancy by means of serving, creating and investing.
“At ELO, we like to talk of ‘group orchestrated experiences’. We purpose to work with recreation studios, manufacturers and capital to boost the out-of-game gaming and group expertise, by means of tradition and innovation,” the founders mentioned.
Particularly, the corporate helps recreation studios craft seamless out-of-game experiences with the in-game expertise round storytelling, creativity & characters, competitors and rewards. Not by means of one advert hoc, disjointed marketing campaign however by making group an integral a part of the sport improvement and life cycle course of, ranging from early group engagement and playtesting to go-to market and long-term, cohesive, advertising and marketing methods.
“The kind of service we offer will depend upon the character of the sport and the objectives of the sport studio, however our focus will all the time be on empowering the group,” the founders mentioned. “We’re trying to accomplice with recreation studios who perceive the worth of making for and with the group however don’t have the capability to take action. If the mission to empower gaming communities doesn’t resonate with a recreation studio or model, we aren’t the best accomplice for them.
