Milestone 2006: Where it all began
What would you do if someone told you your dream had no future? That the goal you had been working towards was doomed to fail even before you’d really begun? Would you fight for it – or would you give up and look for a new, easier dream?
Founder and CEO Simon Hellwig was faced with exactly this choice in the summer of 2006 (at that time still together with Stefan Marcinek, who has left the company since), because his request for a start-up loan was shut down by the local bank with the statement: “There’s no future in computer games!”.
There isn’t?
With much less start-up capital than expected but all the strength of determination possible, Kalypso Media was founded on August 16, 2006 and stood up to the nay-sayers. This determination was evidenced by the launch of Kalypso’s first published title – a casual racing game with the license to “Go Trabi Go”. This was a spirit that would continue to evolve over the following 15 years.
The company’s expectations and goals, already defined by Simon Hellwig in his diploma thesis “Development of a Business Plan for the Foundation of a Company in the Entertainment Software Industry”, were met and even exceeded – with a successful first release as well as growth into locations and studios in England, the US, France and Japan. More successful games followed – and Kalypso became a name in the industry that stood for quality strategy and simulation games.
Kalypso is a great, diverse team. Skin colour, gender and orientation don’t matter. We live equality and inclusion – and nothing will stand in the way of that tenet of our company.
That really does sound like an absolute dream. But of course, not everything was always easy or perfect. Things also liked to go wrong, games were postponed, setbacks were dealt with, and employees left us. None of this made us give up – but rather strengthened our commitment.
With the steady growth of Kalypso and the support of Simon, Anika, Chris and other executives at home and abroad – even with the small things or private problems – as well as the cooperation of now more than 150 employees all over the world, Kalypso Media is looking forward to a great future.
Onwards to the next 15 years. We are ready!
Those interested in learning more about the company’s founding history can check out the 15 years of Kalypso category on the blog, as well as the Kalypso social media channels in the coming days.
Don’t miss out on our anniversary sale in the Kalypso Store! You’ll find and array of Kalypso games with up to 80% off until August 25th with.
