Specialized in the publishing of interactive media - primarily computer games - Kalypso Media was founded in summer 2006 by industry veterans Simon Hellwig and Stefan Marcinek. Just one year later, the sister company Kalypso Media UK Ltd. was opened in Great Britain. Kalypso Media Inc. in Baltimore and Kalypso Media Digital Ltd. in Bracknell have been founded in June 2009.
Additionally, Kalypso Media owns the majority of two development studios: Realmforge Studios in Munich and Gaming Minds Studios in Guetersloh, Germany.
The firm’s philosophy is based for the most part on four strategic pillars:
EFFICIENCY
In addition to their small core teams in Germany and England, by early 2008 Kalypso Media employed well over 100 programmers, designers, graphic artists, sales associates and marketing experts at long-term partner firms in the development, marketing and distribution sectors.
By the end of 2008 Kalypso plans to reinforce and expand their creative young teams in different areas and branch offices.
The “Unlocked Doors” system, which offers each employee a certain say in the areas of product and company philosophy, helps further promote the Kalypso team’s motivation and willingness to perform.
This development reflects the firm’s healthy, organic and above all efficient growth in a young and vibrant branch – the optimal use of available human resources, providing a highly motivated and productive staff which compensates for simple size.COOPERATION
In order to guarantee continuous organic growth, target group appropriate product quality and professional media development Kalypso Media works with partners who have built themselves a reputation within the branch.
Kalypso Media products are available in many countries and languages. To this end long-term co-operations have been entered with reliable, professional license partners in North America, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Hungary and Russia, to name but a few.
For example, distribution in the German-speaking territories is handled by Langenscheidt subsidiary HMH, edel Interactive, or the Frankfurter Stock Exchange listed firm CDV Software, amongst others.
The founding of Kalypso Media UK Ltd. in Leicester, England in summer 2007 allows the western and northern European markets to be serviced directly. This provides Kalypso Media with a basis for cooperation with big software development teams and publishers, e.g. in the fields of distribution and publishing.
The cooperations to date with renowned brands and firms such as the History Channel, NBC Europe, Bavaria Film, T-Online or comedian Instructor Schmidt bear further witness to the firm’s professional and creative performance, especially in the areas of PR & Marketing.INNOVATION
With the release of Top Ten Bestseller “Imperium Romanum” Kalypso Media was able to implement new approaches in the viral marketing of computer games. TV-Spots on the History Channel were combined with the public relations program to good effect while targeted online campaigns combined with an expanded forum program generated a great deal of attention.
Unique marketing ideas such as the epic episodal adventure saga “AGON”, in which the prologue or introduction to the exciting story was published free of charge in newspapers and the Internet with the following episodes then released at short intervals at an affordable price allowed Kalypso Media to secure an innovative edge in the entertainment software business.
The use of modern distribution channels such as marketing software through download from online portals such as T-Online, Gamersgate or Metaboli illustrates how flexible und innovative the firm’s philosophy is. Internet marketing will generate ten percent of the total revenue for 2009.
New product development is carried out by expert development teams such as the Sofia-based Haemimont Games, developers of chart hit “Imperium Romanum” or the American games producers Stardock Corporation, guaranteeing appropriately relevant product quality.FUTURE
The Kalypso Media Group will continue to expand their core business, the marketing of PC games. Summer of 2008 will see the exclusive European release of the US chart “Sins of a Solar Empire”, the adventure “Ceville” hitting stores everywhere in the 4th quarter of 2008 and the 1st quarter of 2009 will see the release of the long-awaited sequel to Kalypso’s most successful product to date, “Imperium Romanum”.
An installed entertainment-capable PC base of over 250 million private households in Europe alone and an affluent group of technology enthusiasts looking to be entertained demonstrate the incredible potential inherent in a target group scarcely accessed to date.
With over 90 million mobile phones in Germany alone, another focus lies on the development and publishing of interactive content for mobile telephones.
Here existing well-known brands and licences such as, for example the “Imperium Romanum” or “Instructor Schmidt” (which is a well known brand in the german speaking territories) should be brought to effective use on mobile telephones.
The expansion and use of existing marketing cooperations and licences and the manifold possibilities brought by new partnerships guarantee constant, creative and marketable content - content which should be utilized above all for consoles and mobile platforms.
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