Midwest Games’ Ben Kvalo named Wisconsin Games Alliance President
The former Netflix, Blizzard, 2K leader and UW-Green Bay graduate aims vision at highlighting regional success and promoting a thriving ecosystem in Wisconsin
Madison, WI - September 9th, 2024 -The Wisconsin Games Alliance (WGA) is thrilled to announce that Ben Kvalo, Founder and CEO of Midwest Games, has been elected as President. Ben succeeds Arthur (AJ) Low, Technical Director at PUBG, who served as President the last two years and will remain on the Board of Directors.
The WGA is a local network of game studios, independent developers, faculty, investors, and regional economic agencies with the shared mission of promoting Wisconsin as a premier site for game development.
“Our ever-ambitious non-profit organization supporting the game development industry in Wisconsin is excited about Ben's long-term vision. Ben is uniquely positioned to drive success and engagement for WGA, having founded the state's first game publisher, Midwest Games. The Midwest region continues to be a hotbed of investment for both new and established developers due to our significant local talent pool and long history of making games. Ben takes a hands-on approach to championing the Wisconsin brand to the wider games industry.” said Low.
As part of his election platform, Kvalo laid out a nine year vision of how and where the WGA can grow. Ben’s vision in large part focuses on providing infrastructure to scaffold the current and future Wisconsin games ecosystem.
Kvalo’s vision can be broken down to three main pillars:
Community Builder
Industry Champion Locally and Globally
Ecosystem Facilitator
“Wisconsin is suddenly in a unique position because of all the individual hard work over the last ~35 years to transition from a very traditional manufacturing, agriculture, lumber, and tourism industry into a potential hub for technology innovations and games.” said Kvalo, who grew up in the state during this transformation but had to move away for opportunities in his field. “This momentum has happened because so much talent originally from Wisconsin has gained experience elsewhere, typically the West Coast. Many of those talented and experienced folks are returning to the Midwest, and Wisconsin, increasing the available talent in the local ecosystem. This combination of outside perspectives and local talent has created massive potential.”
Kvalo added, “A post-covid world reset how we approach work and where we are doing it. So many people are returning to the Midwest and Wisconsin, specifically to take advantage of the lower cost of living, high quality of life, and proximity to family and/or loved ones. We can and should continue to build: “A Game Industry Hub” in the Midwest…right here in Wisconsin.”
“As a newer board member of the Wisconsin Games Alliance, I am genuinely excited about the journey ahead for game development in our state. Under Ben Kvalo's leadership, we have a tremendous opportunity to position Wisconsin as a premier site for game development. I believe that with our collective efforts, the WGA will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the gaming industry in Wisconsin, fostering innovation, and supporting the growth of our community.” said Emily Kuykendall, Director of Operations at Respawn Entertainment in Madison.
Kvalo is already using his leadership skills to collaborate with various stakeholders to build upon the success of MDEV, the marquee event under the WGA. Kvalo, is co-charing MDEV 2024 with Tim Gerritsen, a founding member and past president of WGA, and COO of Lost Boys Interactive. MDEV, now in its sixth year, brings together the region's community of games industry professionals with nationally and internationally renowned speakers. The event will take place on November 7th and 8th, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin.
MDEV has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, doubling attendance last year, with early ticket sales indicating another record-breaking event this year. Santa Monica Studio’s Meghan Morgan Juinio would be the keynote speaker for 2024.
“MDEV began back in 2017 as a celebration of the local video game development industry and comprised locally of amazing developers who make games. We started the conference with the intent of establishing Wisconsin and the Midwest Region as a great place to make games and do business.” said Tim Gerritsen, Co-Executive Chair of MDEV and COO of Lost Boys Interactive.
A bright future is ahead for the games industry in Wisconsin.
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ABOUT WISCONSIN GAMES ALLIANCE
A local network of game studios, independent developers, faculty, investors, and regional economic agencies with the shared mission of promoting Wisconsin as a premier site for game development.
The Wisconsin Games Alliance (WGA) is dedicated to advancing the games and related industries in Wisconsin and the broader Midwest and beyond. They believe that game development and enjoyment is for everyone. For more information, please visit www.WisconsinGamesAlliance.com.
ABOUT WISCONSIN’S GAME INDUSTRY
Madison’s developer scene has been bolstered in recent years with brands, like EA’s Respawn Studio and Epic Games, joining the mix. This along with Microsoft’s acquisition of two studios in Madison, Activision’s Raven Software and ZeniMax Media (formerly Roundhouse Studios), along with the growth of Lost Boys Interactive, under the Embracer Group, and Krafton’s PUBG studio has seen Wisconsin become a developer hub. Homegrown game studios like Guild Software, PerBlue, Filament Games, Flippfly, and Pyramid Lake Games have further grown opportunities in the space.
Wisconsin has also seen its first two Video Game Publishers open their doors in Midwest Games, from former Netflix leader Ben Kvalo, and Bigmode, from popular Video Game YouTuber, Jason Gastrow aka videogamedunkey, and fellow YouTuber and spouse, Leah Bee.
