2024-10-17
Christian Kronegård, CEO of Kinda Brave, highlights the investment in the game HELA, which is fully funded through an agreement with Knights Peak. He also mentions the company's plans to expand into other media, such as TV and film, and to grow its portfolio of intellectual property rights.
1. What industry does Kinda Brave operate in, and what do you specialize in?
Kinda Brave is a modern gaming group with a focus on developing and owning game studios and intellectual property rights.
Today, the group consists of four game studios, of which Windup Games is the largest. Windup is run by industry veterans who are among others behind the successful Unravel series, published by EA in 2016 and 2018. Our vision is to create a unique entertainment group with strong intellectual property rights in several areas, including TV series, films and comic books.
2. You have received a lot of attention for the development of the game Hela. Would you like to tell us more about that venture?
HELA tells a tale of an old, friendly witch and her family, a group of mice with magical backpacks, who for generations have helped the population and villagers with various problems and needs. When the witch has fallen ill, the mice set out on an adventure to find a cure, while taking care of her everyday chores.
The game takes place in the forests of Norrland, where the player explores an open world in 3D and in a third-person perspective. It can be played by up to four people in co-op and multiplayer.
We are very proud of what we have achieved in production so far. A testament to the high quality that the team at Windup Games delivers is the recently signed publishing deal with Knights Peak, which was secured at the end of July this year.
At a time when the gaming industry is going through challenges, Windup Games has managed to sign a competitive publishing deal that will enable the project to be completed. In addition, the company will receive a significant amount for marketing and publishing the game before, during and after launch.
3. In connection with the development of Hela, you have entered into a licensing agreement with a partner. Would you like to tell us more about the agreement?
The total investment from the publisher amounts to 4.5 million USD, of which 3.8 million USD is in the form of prepaid royalties (cash payments), which are paid out on an ongoing basis at milestones achieved during the development of the game until launch.
The target group that the game is aimed at currently plays games such as Unravel and It Takes Two, which are multi-million selling games that both the media, press and the player community constantly draw references to, not least thanks to the game's Hela aesthetics and entertaining co-op mode.
The development of our main project Hela is fully funded with the publishing agreement.
4. What are you most pleased with about the development so far?
In our relatively short time in business, we have achieved significant success. We have built a team of extremely talented employees and shareholders, who have previously proven their competence on the global stage by developing and launching multi-million selling games.
Through our agreement with global publisher Knights Peak, we have not only secured financing for the completion of Hela, but also created the conditions to reach players and enthusiasts worldwide, which is an important factor in selling the maximum number of games after launch.
We have succeeded in this despite the challenges posed by a fiercely competitive industry, which we see as a statement of strength and proof of the great potential that our flagship project Hela has.
5. What other projects do you have in development?
We are currently focusing on Hela. We want to prove the viability of the studio and the company before taking on new projects. In addition, we are working in parallel on porting our existing games Distant Bloom and Go Fight Fantastic to consoles.
Regarding the game Distant Bloom, we have recently entered into a global publishing agreement with Aurora Punks AB. The agreement covers both PC and console, enabling new revenue streams while opening up millions of new players on Nintendo, Playstation and Xbox.
6. Looking ahead, what triggers are there in Kinda Brave?
We intend to continuously update the market on the progress of the development of Hela as well as other opportunities that materialize, whether it concerns our existing portfolio or transmedia opportunities for Hela.
Although we place a great deal of focus on the game development of Hela, we also focus on publishing agreements for existing games in our portfolio and how such an agreement can give the console versions of already released games good visibility going forward.
The company has a stated strategy around developing intangible assets across different media and we already have several conversations underway about how we could, for example, take Hela to TV and FILM.
We thank Christian Kronegård for the interview and wish the company all the best in the future.
Disclaimer:
This is an interview that has been done on behalf of the company. Impala Nordic or people behind Impala Nordic owns no shares in the company at the time of the interview.
