The Altrincham-based team behind the hugely successful Golf Clash game have secured $10million in funding for the launch of their new company.
Paul Gouge and Alex Rigby enjoyed a massive hit with mobile app Golf Clash, which was installed 150 million times, and in 2021 sold their last company Playdemic to gaming giant Electronic Arts for $1.4billion.
They’ve now formed a new studio called ForthStar and after hiring some of the key figures who helped to create Golf Clash, have now secured $10m from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Griffin Gaming Partners.
The team now has sufficient funds in place to support the development of their next release, which is still over a year away, and are actively recruiting industry-leading talent.
“Our mission is clear; to make great games that millions of people love to play, every day for years,” said ForthStar CEO and co-founder Paul Gouge.
“It’s an objective we have achieved before, and one that we know we can meet again by building exceptional games that captivate millions of players and become essential daily entertainment.”
Rigby added: “We have been fortunate enough to lead and build studios populated by some of the most accomplished and creative talent in our industry. With the opening of ForthStar we are able to leverage all we’ve learnt in more than two decades of mobile gaming, establishing the strongest foundation for future innovation and success.”
Since founding their first mobile studio BattleMail in 2001, Rigby and Gouge have forged a formidable track record for studio success.
Their debut enterprise sold to (M)Forma in 2002 and was soon followed by the creation and sale of Rockpool Games to Eidos/Square Enix in 2007.
Most recently, the sale of their third studio Playdemic to Electronic Arts (after several years inside Warner Bros) set new records for a UK studio, achieving an industry record price of $1.4bn.
Based at Station House in Altrincham, ForthStar is also trialing a four-day working week as part of its flexible approach to working.
More details of open positions can be found here,
