Game veterans at Hatrabbit, first startup accepted to STING’s game incubator
It’s an impressive track record hiding behind Hatrabbit Entertainment, a new studio that builds experiences in virtual and augmented reality. There are already technically advanced games on the market, but the magic with Hatrabbit lies in their ability to combine new graphics technology that takes the experience to the next level. Hatrabbit is the first company to be accepted to STING’s newly opened game incubator.
Joakim Svärling and Andreas Chrysovitsanos, the founders of Hatrabbit, both have 17 years of experience in the gaming industry, both as developers and leaders. With top positions at EA DICE and Rovio, they have created and worked with some of the world’s largest AAA and mobile franchising games, such as Battlefield and Angry Birds.
– DICE taught us to build with our hearts and Rovio taught us the benefits of data-driven game development. The common goals of both schools are to reach the top globally but with different approaches. Now we combine that knowledge, and focus on building games and magical experiences where our strengths emerge regardless of platform, Andreas says.
– Our focus right now is to find the right partners that can help us take the company to the international top. For the right support, both from investors but also from organizations like STING, says Joakim.
Despite their many years in the industry, they have a humble attitude to their strengths and weaknesses and look forward to the cooperation with STING.
– It’s naive to believe you do not have more to learn. We see STING as a sounding board with incredibly broad and long-standing expertise in company construction. They can help us with investments, how we build a larger business and think strategically about long-term relationships. We realized that at the moment we could not find someone else who has as much experience and as many contacts, says Andreas.
The companies accepted to STING’s game incubator will be part of the STING Incubate program. They have coach meetings each week and have access to all of STING’s other support and strong network in the gaming industry. Jonas Lindqvist and Jana Palm, who led the pre-incubator program STING Test Drive Game this fall, will be coach and hub manager.
