Several former senior staff from Relax Gaming and Evolution have joined together to launch Big Daddy Gaming, a new slots development studio.
Simon Hammon, formerly CEO of Relax, has collaborated with Daniel Eskola, previously chief product officer at Relax, and Erland Hellstrom, who spent over seven years with Evolution, to launch the new venture.
Gaming investment fund Castech provided capital for the project. Toni Kolehmainen will also support the new studio as a member of the board.
According to Big Daddy Gaming, its “disruptive model” will blend proven mechanics with the studio’s own humour and edge. It said several “major brands” have been working with the studio during its pre-launch phase, with market entry planned before the end of 2025.
‘Highly profitable asset’ for studio partners
Commenting on the launch, Hammon said the new studio plans to become a “reliable” and “highly profitable asset” for partners. Hammon led Relax as CEO for two and a half years having previously worked for NetEnt.
“Being at the heart of some of the industry’s greatest success stories has allowed us to launch Big Daddy Gaming with genuine humility and a clear purpose to be a reliable, highly profitable asset for our operator partners,” he said. “We know the ingredients for lasting engagement and we have the technical maturity to execute – creating content that is robust, reliable and genuinely fun.”
Hellstrom will serve as CEO of the new studio. An experienced industry executive, he spent seven years at Evolution, primarily in commercial management roles.
“Our collective experience across game development and tier-one operator relations ensures that every title we build is engineered for peak performance and designed with real operator challenges in mind,” he said. “With Big Daddy Gaming, we are excited to deliver on the promise that our focus and experience translate directly into unmatched value creation for our partners.”
Eskola also brings with him a wealth of industry experience. He worked at Relax for six and a half years, including over two years as its head of R&D. He also had a brief spell as deputy CEO.
“Big Daddy Gaming has been founded on the belief that a successful partnership starts with a humble approach and ends with measurable returns,” Eskola said. “As a studio, we’re committed to addressing the fundamental challenges facing operators today by providing consistent, high-quality and high-performing content that secures long-term player loyalty.”
Simon Hammon, Daniel Eskola and Erland Hellstrom will lead the new studio.