Former Yggdrasil managers launch slots studio start-up

Two former senior Yggdrasil employees have launched their own games studio which promises to bring “something completely new to the market”.

Paweł Piotrowski and Grzegorz Przybyłowicz have joined forces to create Nailed It! Games, a new company based out of the Polish city of Kraków with its eyes firmly set on tackling the European market.

The pair, who originally worked together at Ganymede in 2014, spent nearly five years together at Yggdrasil in a variety of roles.

Piotrowski served as a studio manager and new games manager during his tenure before leaving in July 2021, while Przybyłowicz departed in October 2019 after a period as development manager.

The duo are now looking to make their mark on the industry as a start-up venture and have exclusively explained to EGR how the business was founded.

Piotrowski said: “Greg was already leaving his previous company [and] I was still at Yggdrasil. But it was always something that I wanted to do, even when I joined Yggdrasil seven years ago.

Paweł Piotrowski most recently served as Yggdrasil new games manager from December 2019 until July 2021

“I’ve gathered enough knowledge about the industry and how it works from the inside because prior to that I was a slots player.

“It was always a goal for me to one day open up a game studio and use that personal and professional experience,” he added.

Przybyłowicz revealed he was at a crossroads before meeting with Piotrowski. Indeed, he had planned to take a break from the industry altogether but was enticed by the prospect of starting Nailed It! Games.

The pair joined Yggdrasil in its early stages, with both overseeing a wide range of areas as is commonplace at start-ups.

Przybyłowicz said that experience of helping a company build from the ground up has put them in good stead for the future.

He said: “We know what was done well and what was done bad, and we have our own ideas on how we can grow better and in a more stable and predictable way.”

Plans for an office and studio space are dependent on funding but there are plans to “significantly” ramp up employee headcount in 2022.

Piotrowski said: “We are talking to different publishers and investors. Initially, the plan was to be 100% self-funded, but now we are considering some funding, after looking at all the pros and cons.

“Of course, the funding is going to speed up our plans and if we don’t go for it, we are going to go a bit slower.

“We’re currently capable of making one game every three months with the ambition to produce 10 games a year when we scale, but we want to focus on quality rather than quantity,” he added.

Grzegorz Przybyłowicz was considering a break before co-founding Nailed It! Games

When asked how Nailed It! Games could achieve differentiation in a crowded slots marketplace, Piotrowski pulled inspiration from Big Time Gaming’s Megaways mechanic.

He continued: “Everyone is trying to come up with a framework they can use multiple times or licence to other studios. We have something like this cooking but we are not being too experimental with the first three games.

“Following that, we will roll out our innovative mechanics and bring something completely new to the market,” he added.