Mobile game company Nifty Games has opened a new development studio in Chicago. 

The news comes a few months after the developer-publisher secured over $12 million to create officially licensed sports titles for mobile platforms, and marks Nifty's first internal development studio. 

The fledgling branch will be led by industry veteran David Michicich who previously held leadership roles at EA, Studio Gigante, and Reliance Entertainment, and will focus on creating "mobile-first, authentic sports games." 

"The opportunity to spearhead the Nifty Games Chicago studio is tremendous," commented Michicich. "The ability to start a studio with a group that has worked together for years, doing what we love, is incredibly unique.

"We aim to build the best sports focused mobile studio to bring fun and competitive, mobile-first games to sports fans globally.”