Ghost Ship Games wants to fill the void: With three investments in Danish gaming studios in one year, Ghost Ship Games has become the most active seed investor in the Danish gaming industry.

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Sponsored: This article is made in collaboration with Ghost Ship Games.

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Adventurous space dwarfs greedily digging themselves into alien planets have become such a huge commercial success for the game studio Ghost Ship Games that they have now started investing part of their profits in other, upcoming game developers.

“It is a gap in the market that has been left behind by Capnova (discontinued venture fund that invested heavily in the gaming industry at an early stage, red.),” Søren Lundgaard, CEO and co-founder of Ghost Ship Games, explains. “And investments are needed, especially at an early stage if the industry is to thrive. We have just seized that opportunity.”

The gaming company is still busy developing and expanding its own game, Deep Rock Galactic, but is now simultaneously seed-investing in the Danish gaming industry. A move Lundgaard believes is absolutely crucial if the Danish gaming industry is to be as successful as the neighbours in Sweden.

“We have been inspired by the Swedish model: Those who have sold their game studio have chosen to invest their earnings back into the industry. We have not seen this in the same way in Denmark – but we are trying to change that now,” says Lundgaard.

Aiming for the long term hits

Over the past year, Ghost Ship Games has invested in three very different game developers: Ugly Duckling Games, Half Past Yellow and Games Swing. A range that is necessary as an investor in the hit-driven industry.

“We are not philanthropists; we expect a return on our investments. But we have a very long horizon – if it takes 10 years to become a commercial success, that’s fine,” Lundgaard says.

Ghost Ship Games invest significant amounts of money in young studios, knowing that many of them may never be commercially successful. However, expectations are that those who do manage to produce a hit will make up for it. And without those early investments, they will never get the chance to unleash the hitpotential that ultimately drives the entire industry forward.

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The 3 first investments from Ghost Ship Games:

Games Swing (January 2021): Started developing the game Stikbold – A Dodgeball Adventure during a Game Jam at ITU – which they later decided to commercialize. The studio is currently working on its spiritual sequel which will be published by the giant Ubisoft.

Ugly Duckling Games (September 2021): Develops “Drama Studio” which is an animation tool targeted at schools – a kind of virtual theatre that supports teaching. Their mix of game mechanics and EdTech has led to 26,000 licenses being sold to Danish schools in four months.

Half Past Yellow (January 2022): Develops small, whimsical games that push the boundaries of what a game can be through game-jamming and rapid development. The first games already have hundreds of thousands of players, and with their effective framework their big, international hit is just a matter of time.

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A new, big muscle in the industry

The CEO hopes that Ghost Ship Games can help foster the next generation of new, Danish gaming successes. At the same time, he wants other Danish investors to realize the potential in the Danish gaming industry.

“We certainly hope to inspire others to invest in the gaming industry as well. The potential for striking a good deal is enormous, so it’s a bit wild that we do not have competitors in the investment market in Denmark right now,” Lundgaard says.