07 Jul 2021
Having a culture of leveling up can lead a company to great heights.
At Wooga, they don’t shy away from a challenge and they're not satisfied with the status quo. Their people really make the company what it is, creating games that attract millions of players around the world. Wooga believe that’s down to three reasons: truly focusing on their vision, becoming masters of their craft, and redefining collaboration.
Wooga have come a long way since 2009, originally creating social games on Facebook, including Brain Buddies and Bubble Island. They've gone on to be extremely successful on mobile, with Diamond Dash and Jelly Splash. Today they have a team of 250 employees and are proud that the most successful hidden object game on the market right now is their very own June’s Journey.
Their journey saw them trying many different avenues, and that’s what has shaped them to be who they are today — the includes all the mistakes they made along the way. In truth, Wooga had some unsuccessful years, when they dipped their toes into a wide range of genres — from strategy games to shooters and even football manager. In 2018 they realised two crucial things: high-quality storytelling is what makes them unique, and a tight focus makes them more successful, not less.
The vast majority of Wooga's players are women at the age of 45+.Their games allow players time to unwind and relax or simply enjoy a gripping story, Their laser-like focus makes decision making easier in every aspect of the business, knowing when to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to products, marketing, and HR decisions.
A true focus comes with another upside: becoming a real master of your craft. Hand-in-hand Wooga's teams learn from each other, both within their individual disciplines and across the organisation. This means not only that they are continuously improving, but also that they acknowledge and appreciate everyone that plays a role.
Through initiatives like the educational budget, Wooga encourage employees to level up their personal development, leading to more motivated and creative individuals. They host brown bags with both internal and external speakers, and discipline teams regularly share ‘five minutes of fame’ with the company.
Alongside leveling up the team, Wooga also strive to level up their games. For every new game they bring out, they want to lift the bar and innovate.
Building successful story-driven games that deliver exciting new content each and every week is very challenging and requires time, dedication, and talent. But, Wooga know from their fans that it’s definitely worth it!
Wooga are aware that their goals are ambitious and can only be achieved as one company. They really mean it when they say that they create a truly collaborative working environment.
Wooga employees are team players who always offer a helping hand to colleagues and share expert knowledge across teams and disciplines. Even though the responsibilities of team members are defined, everyone is invited to give feedback or input outside their area of responsibility.
It’s really important to Wooga that they treat their team as the capable adults they are. For this reason, they value transparency and share information across the organisation. Everyone can sign up for a daily company report and attend a 15-minute standup on Monday. It's important the whole business understands how games are performing and how as employees they can contribute as individuals. Those aspects of the companies culture ensure that they stay on track to hit their goals.
Keep Calm and waka waka...
