German game company Gameforge, known best as an international publisher of free-to-play online games like Tera and Wizard101, is trying to fortify its foothold in North America by establishing a new "Games Division" led by former THQ exec Tim Campbell (pictured).
This is chiefly interesting because free-to-play games are far more commonplace in North America now than ever, and Gameforge -- which has typically focused on operating free-to-play games in Europe and Asia -- is trying to shift its business to take advantage of that trend.
"The free-to-play market has grown rapidly over the years – there are a lot of established studios and publishers who have recognised the advantages of the model and are now trying to gain a foothold in this sector,” Campbell stated in a press release about the venture. “For us, this means we need to consistently make good use of our experience and transfer it to new markets and platforms."
What that means, practically speaking, is a bit unclear -- Campbell's newly-formed division will "better unify and streamline internal and external development efforts" as Gameforge moves to expands its game publishing efforts in North America.
The firm previously split its internal operations between development/publishing in amidst big layoffs in 2011. More recently it began pouring resources into North America by cutting partnership deals to help publish U.S.-made online games like Hex Entertainment's Hex: Shards of Fate and Robot's Orcs Must Die! Unchained.