Ngmoco Hires Former EA Exec Ben Cousins To Establish Swedish Studio

Ben Cousins, formerly general manager at Electronic Arts, has been hired by mobile games company Ngmoco to form a new studio in Sweden. Cousins was originally general manager of EA's free-to-play-focused Easy Studios, and announced that he was departing from the company back in March as Battlefield Play4Free was launched. The newly-formed Stockholm-based studio will focus on creating free-to-play games for DeNA’s Mobage social gaming platform, as well as titles for a global audience. "The games industry is at an inflection point," explained Cousins. "These platforms are bringing hundreds of millions of new gamers into the fold, and at the same time existing core gamers are discovering the innovation, immersion and connectivity they bring." "I’m excited to participate in helping shape what we believe is the future of games." Neil Young, CEO at Ngmoco, said of the move, "From pioneering downloadable content for handhelds to helping spearhead bold moves into free-to-play gaming for core games franchises, Ben brings a keen understanding of delivering great freemium games and AAA game development to Ngmoco. We’re thrilled to have him leading Ngmoco Sweden." Ngmoco also recently revealed that it had acquired long-time collaborator Rough Cookie as a means of establishing the company's presence in Europe.