Ex-William Hill gaming execs launch new slots development house
James Curwen and William Mathieson team up to launch Superbet-backed Golden Rock Studios
Former William Hill gaming execs James Curwen and William Mathieson have teamed up to launch a new online slots and table games development house, EGR Intel can reveal.
The two gaming stalwarts, who both left Hills earlier this year, recently joined forces to start their new Golden Rock Studios (GRS) venture, backed financially by Curwen’s new employer, Superbet.
The operator is also in line to benefit from preferential commercial deals on all content developed by GRS, which currently has creative and design teams based in Gibraltar and the UK.
“With my knowledge and experience in both land-based and online gaming organisations and William being the brains behind some of the world’s most successful online slots, we aim to provide a truly unique offering via Golden Rock Studios,” Curwen told EGR Intel.
“GRS will be bringing cutting edge design alongside unique game play concepts with UK & European focused math models that are proven revenue generators across the globe,” Curwen added.
James Curwen, co-founder of Golden Rock Studios
He said the company hoped to announce new partners within the next few months, while it also aims to hire a new CEO in 2018, at which point Curwen would likely take on the role of chairman.
Curwen recently joined Superbet as its new chief gaming officer to oversee all gaming operations within the group having previously worked on a consultancy basis for the Romanian operator.
Prior to joining Superbet, he worked at William Hill for more than six years in a number of senior gaming roles including director of gaming P&L and chief gaming product officer.
Meanwhile, GRS co-founder Mathieson also worked at Hills for a number of years in various roles, including slots operation manager and head of gaming development.
According to Curwen and Mathieson, the two GRS founders were “behind the success of William Hill’s Vegas” product, with over 80% of revenues over the last four years coming from games they helped create.