Monumental Games

Monumental Games was founded in 2005 by industry veterans Rik Alexander and Rocco Loscalzo. It won the innovation award at the FGBA and the judges reckon it will soon become a household name.

Massively multiplayer online games (or MMOs) is not a phrase that will instantly appeal to everybody. Before you glaze over, hold your attention long enough to consider the possibilities involved in Monumental Games’ latest creation, Football Superstars.

Computer games involving football have always been globally popular, arguably as popular as the game itself and played in even greater numbers. So, if executed well, a free online football computer game is going to have enormous pull.

Typically, games have allowed you to control a whole football team, or even to be a manager. However, Football Superstars is different in that you are a single player and compete as an individual against millions of others. You are one player in a team of 11 playing against 11 other individually controlled players.

Successful players can achieve a superstar lifestyle including tabloid interviews, visiting nightclubs, fashion accessories and, of course, the infamous WAGs. For gamers, this level of unpredictability is mind blowing.

Yet for the more business minded, the possibilities for ad placements, affiliate deals and purchasable add-ons are seemingly endless. The leading businesses in this sector have revenues in the hundreds of millions and Monumental has kicked off in some style.

“Over a quarter of a million people had registered for it before it had even come out and it was on the front cover of several magazines, which was fantastic,” says Alexander.

Monumental approaches its games as if they were services; customer feedback is prized and acted upon. This helps it to perfect its offerings, and is a far cry from the traditional approach to games where developers would work in secret for months before unveiling their grand creations.

“We try very hard to listen to what the customers want and there aren’t many game companies out there that listen to what the feedback is and act upon it,” says Loscalzo.