Return Entertainment, a cloud-gaming studio based in Helsinki, has named Vesa Jutila as its CEO and announced an investment from Samsung Next. The company’s focus is on creating bite-sized AAA games using its zero-integration technology for smart TV gaming. Established in 2019, Return Entertainment aims to revolutionize gaming through cloud-native technology. Vesa Jutila, a seasoned sales and marketing executive with a background in cloud gaming, will lead the company as CEO. Antti Sartanen, the former CEO, will transition to the Head of User Experience role and join the Board of Directors. The startup is supported by various investors, including Sisu Game Ventures, Bitkraft Ventures, Vgames, 1Up Ventures, SMOK Ventures, and now Samsung Next.
Since its inception in 2019, Return Entertainment has been on a mission to reinvent gaming with cloud-native technology. To accelerate the company’s path forward and bring more experience to the team, Vesa Jutila has been appointed as CEO.
“Return Entertainment is uniquely positioned to bring next-generation bite-sized AAA gaming experiences to TVs. The team is now strong and well-positioned to execute on our strategy,” said Juhani Honkala, Chairman of the Board.
Vesa Jutila is an experienced sales and marketing executive and a cloud-gaming veteran with a passion for building brands and growing businesses at a global scale. Vesa worked at Rovio Entertainment as Vice President, Commercial Operations & General Manager of Rovio China, and as Co-founder & Chief Commercial Officer for Rovio’s cloud-gaming subsidiary, Hatch Entertainment. Before joining Return Entertainment as Interim Chief Commercial Officer earlier this year, Vesa held the CEO role at Leadoo Marketing Technologies, a Helsinki based MarTech SaaS company.
“I feel privileged to take the helm of this groundbreaking cloud-gaming company and join Return Entertainment’s superstar team. Cloud native will be the future of gaming and I look forward to working with our partners to let people experience effortless and instant gaming on their smart TVs,” said Vesa Jutila.
Antti Sartanen, who has led the company through its previous phase as CEO, will transition to the role of Head of User Experience and become a member of the company’s Board of Directors.
“I am excited about having Vesa on board to lead Return Entertainment as we are taking the next steps with our games and tech for smart TVs. We are extremely proud to have Samsung Next joining as an investor on our journey to bring gaming to all living rooms,” concluded Antti Sartanen.
Return Entertainment is currently backed by Sisu Game Ventures, Bitkraft Ventures, Vgames, 1Up Ventures and SMOK Ventures, and has raised 5.3 million EUR during its pre-seed and seed rounds. To further strengthen the company’s financial standing and execution capabilities, Samsung Next has made a between-round investment in the company. The investment was made with the same valuation as the previous seed round with some of the existing investors also joining the round on a pro-rata basis.
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