Independent gaming companies, much like independent ad agencies, are stealing a march on their bloated corporate rivals. Ace of Hearts and Formation Games are both part of the new wave in their respective businesses, and they have now got together as strategic business partners.
Ace of Hearts has taken an equity stake in Formation, whose first title, Club, is a free-to-play mobile game that lets you create and run a football club using real Premier League players. Club has more than 750,000 users in 100+ countries, and reached No.2 in Apple’s App Store.
The ad agency will work on Club across brand activation and product strategy, priming it to compete in a category that includes giants like EA Sports FC, the Premier League’s own fantasy product, and Football Manager.
Alex Horne, co-founder and executive chair of Formation Games, was previously CEO of The Football Association and MD of Wembley Stadium. He said: “Ace of Hearts bridge world-class creative experience with commercial rigour. The equity structure was important to us to ensure our interests are truly aligned and we are excited that the team at Ace of Hearts share our belief in what CLUB can become: we believe this is the start of a long-term partnership.”
Polly McMorrow, co-founder and CEO of Ace of Hearts said: “This is exactly the kind of partnership Ace of Hearts was set up for. The traditional agency model asks you to turn up at the comms output stage, once the strategy is set and the business decisions are already made. Equity flips that. We’re sharing the risk and the reward right from the get go, working across the business from how the game looks and functions to the way its story is told.”
Other equity partners in Formation include two gaming creators, Manny and FPL Raptor. Ace of Hearts’ first work will launch in August ahead of the start of the new Premier League season.
