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Sandsoft, the mobile-first game developer, publisher and investor powered by world-leading games industry talent, is launching a major new mobile game development studio in Barcelona, led by Alexandre Besenval, who joins the company as VP Studio Barcelona. Sandsoft Barcelona will become the company’s European hub, reflecting its strategy to become a global gaming powerhouse.
Sandsoft first opened its Barcelona office in January 2022 and has long-established ties to the games industry ecosystem in the city through CEO David Fernandez and COO Pasqual Batalla, who recently joined Sandsoft from Socialpoint, a Take-Two Interactive subsidiary.
With the opening of the new studio, Barcelona will become the key European location for the Riyadh-headquartered company, recruiting talent locally and from across the continent to work on new first-party titles. The studio is expected to grow steadily and create 60 new roles over the next three years.
Sandsoft Barcelona will be helmed by Alexandre Besenval, formerly Head of New Games & Studio Manager at Madbox. Alexandre has extensive experience in the mobile games industry, having also previously worked as VP of Product at Socialpoint and Studio Manager at Gameloft. He will work closely with Sandsoft’s Leadership Team, including EA and Zynga veteran, Yahsir Qureshi (VP Studio Riyadh), to align Sandsoft’s global development strategy, focused on creating innovative, accessible core social games that bring people together from all over the world and are played for years to come.
David Fernandez, CEO at Sandsoft, commented: “Barcelona is a city that’s close to my heart and which already houses a thriving community of game makers. It’s also a perfect place for talented devs from across Europe to come and be part of what we’re building at Sandsoft. As a relatively new company, this is an opportunity to be part of making brand-new games and creating new IPs at a time in the industry where new titles are scarce. I can’t think of anyone better to lead this exciting phase of our growth than Alexandre.”
Alexandre Besenval, VP of Studio Barcelona at Sandsoft, commented: “Sandsoft has the ambition to build a truly global and diverse gaming company and I’m excited to play my part. I was instantly impressed by the team’s commitment to creating engaging experiences for players across the world and the opportunity to shape these from an early stage alongside talented colleagues was a big draw. A studio is only as good as its people and we want to surround ourselves with the best talent to build a mobile gaming dream team.”
