Startup Spotlight #212: TruePlayers

TruePlayers takes the best experiences on PC/Console and build mobile first titles inspired by them.

Feb 12, 2024

I got the chance to speak with Adrian Ruiz-Langan and Rob Boone, co-founders of TruePlayers, about what they are working on at their startup, and any advice they have for emerging entrepreneurs.

TruePlayers was founded in 2021 by Adrian Ruiz-Langan (CEO) and Rob Boone (COO).
TruePlayers is a mobile games studio that sees the lack of variety and depth in the current top grossing mobile games as an opportunity to break through and provide something new to the ever-growing player base of mobile games. The two co-founders raised £600k in their pre-seed to scale the team and release their first title UnderKnight: One Thumb Warrior. A game they like to refer to as a diet Elden Ring. The game is currently in early access on the google play store.

With his background in console and PC gaming, Adrian first developed the vision for TruePlayers and the prototype for UnderKnight after working with AudioMob and being surprised by the lack of interesting mobile games out there. A sentiment Rob agreed with, coming from a background in mobile, developing and releasing games in Finland, and a hub of mobile game studios. With their combined experience, sentiment and drive, they chose to take on this challenge.

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Startup Spotlight: Trueplayers

Trueplayers co-founders Adrian Ruiz-Langan and Rob Boone.

Problem: Casual gamers on mobile are increasingly looking for more depth from games in the same format they prefer to play in, portrait mode. This requires fresh thinking and new approaches to create deep experiences with one-finger controls.

Market: With mobile games growing 8.74% year on year and a current TAM of US$124.90bn, there is much room to capture new and existing users looking for a deeper experience than the current landscape provides.

Solution: TruePlayers are taking the very best of landscape, high retaining titles and distilling them into innovative mobile first portrait titles. We use colorful stylized graphics to appeal to existing casual audiences and layer with a deep meta to convert users to long-term players.

Team: Our team is a mix of mobile and console experienced developers, focused on delivering mobile-first versions of the best retaining pc and console titles out there. We have experience working in all aspects of the games industry from development to large-scale marketing campaigns.

Recent Success:

Ruiz-Langan & Boone: Distilling versions of high retention PC & Console games to mobile first games and designs. Developing core technologies in a modular workflow that allows us to recycle common components into future titles to reduce cost and dev time. Positioning us as an attractive long-term investment in a consistently growing market. Engaging and entertaining players in all audiences with a fresh approach to mobile gaming.

Recent Struggle:

Ruiz-Langan & Boone: We’ve found that it's difficult to maintain the big picture perspective while we are also the primary development force pushing the product forward. Being so close to the game and seeing the issues therein makes it harder to judge what should be ignored, immediately addressed or pushed later in the development cycle. This is the nature of a small agile team but something we know can only be resolved by expanding the team to allow us to take a breath. The main challenge in this stage is to make sure we get the right people who want to be part of a startup and grow with the company versus people who don’t want to know anything outside of their lane.

Founder Advice:

Ruiz-Langan & Boone: Look to join growing markets and position yourself to be able to grow alongside it, regardless of the product, this will set you up to increase the value of your company through knowledge, team and tech. This is a great position to be in as a founder looking to find investments and build a company that can withstand economic turmoil. Don’t be afraid if you don’t feel you are the perfect fit, there will always be people out there with more experience but that doesn't mean you won't be successful. Sometimes the best people to innovate are the ones who are not ingrained in the status quo and can bring a fresh perspective to the market.

Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:

Ruiz-Langan & Boone: Here are three founders you should check out next!

Tim Edwards, Founder of Codices: Codices makes live, interactive shows.
Lucy Earp, Co-Founder of Waving Bear Studios: Waving Bear Studios is an indie game studio developing its first title "Stuffed."
Shaz Yousaf, Co-Founder of Mind Feast Games: Mind Feast Games creates experiences which nourish people’s minds and hearts.

Who should I profile next? Leave your suggestion in the comments:

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