Double Feature: Milestones 2015 & 2014
2015: Kalypso Media Mobile arrives on the scene
In today’s #15YearsOfKalypso retrospective, we look back on two different years: 2014 and 2015. For 2015, Marcus Behrens, Publishing Director of Mobile Business Development, digs into his memories and chats about how our mobile department was founded.
Until the founding of Kalypso Media Mobile in 2015, Kalypso was only active in the PC and console space. The mobile market was a completely new challenge.
We (Kalypso Media Mobile) work in the heart of Hamburg-Altona and are subtenants in a large, nationwide recording studio, which I have been fond of for the last 20 years. There are often prominent visitors to the studio, from actors to well-known musicians. Unfortunately, from time to time there are also “artists” who sound more screaming cats. The former producer of Tokio Hotel also had his home here, but that was quite a while ago.
So far, we have brought over 20 games to the Google Play and App Store with Kalypso Media Mobile, but also managed other projects such as Ski Jumping Pro VR for PC and PS4. I had the opportunity to meet Olympic ski jumping champion Andreas Wellinger and even bring him on board for Ski Jumping Pro VR.
Ralf (Bauer), Senior Project Manager at Kalypso Media Mobile, and I have known each other since 1999 and are a well-established team, having worked together at Eidos for 10 years and contributed to the German releases of games like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Hitman.
Most recently, we brought Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus to mobile and will soon be announcing an exciting new project… But that’s all we can say for the time being.
And what about Tropico, you ask? El Presidente can’t be MIA on mobile devices so in 2019, Kalypso Media Mobile distributed the tropical city builder to smartphones and tablets. Speaking of Tropico…
2014: Tropico 5, El Presidente’s Day and a release that made company history
El Presidente remembers and makes plans:
May 23 has always been El Presidente’s Day, even if Penultimo forgets that a bit too often… Clearly treason against the state but it’s hard to find good help. Hmm…As punishment, I’ll just take away his beloved Penny! Whether or not he sees her again, that, I’ll have to think about. *evil laughter*.
Good old Penny, always so sweet and happy when she gets to go to the llama spa. It’s just a good thing Penultimo doesn’t yet know I own one of those…
But we digress! In 2014, Tropico 5 took advantage of El Presidente’s Day (yes, it really exists!) and released on the 23rd of May. With great foresight and talent, El Prez managed to make his Tropico 5 the most successful release in the company’s history to date and this iteration is still praised by all and consistently played world-over.
In honour of Tropico 5 and El Presidente’s Day, Penultimo (credit goes to the Penultimo Fan Page on Facebook!) took to the pen himself and composed a song.
El Presidente was thrilled (and still is when he thinks back on it). Even if his aviators covered his eyes, he couldn’t hide his grin.
#15YearsOfKalypso continues! Will Penultimo find his Penny again? Will El Prez ever take off his shades? We have so many more stories and insights to share with you in the coming weeks! Keep an eye on our official channels and the ‘15 Years’ category here on the blog.