'But at the end of 2014 we read about Vainglory. Speaking to at the Slush conference in Helsinki, Piirainen explained that the initial focus was simply to make a better FPS than the company's first game, Critical Strike - which was 'pretty successful' in terms of downloads, if not monetisation.Īt that point, in early 2014, the current esports boom was still in its early stages, and the idea of being part of it with a mobile game hadn't occurred to Piirainen of his team. Three years later, the Finnish studio has turned Critical Ops into arguably the most credible esports FPS on mobile.Īccording to Veli-Pekka Piirainen, who founded Critical Force in 2012, the key to its growth has been patience.
When Critical Force started developing its second game, esports wasn't part of the conversation.
