The gaming industry has seen tremendous growth in recent years. While men have traditionally dominated the gaming industry, female pioneers have broken boundaries and paved the way for future generations of female gamers and leaders. One such leader is Taina Malen, the chief business development officer and chief marketing officer of Star Stable Entertainment. Malen’s contributions to the gaming industry serve as an inspiration to aspiring female gamers and leaders, highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the industry.
Talking to AnimationXpress, Malen, who has over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry having previously held positions in CANAL+, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros, opens up about her journey and the industry.
“Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing companies,” said Malen, who comes from a background in music, film, TV and pay TV. “I, along with some former colleagues, started an esports initiative called Esportal before joining Star Stable.” Esportal is still operational today. Interestingly, one of its owners was also a shareholder in Star Stable.
When Malen joined Star Stable, it was still a small team of 14 people. Her role was to set up marketing disciplines, customer service and brand extensions such as music, publishing and animation. “Over the past nine years, the company has expanded to over 200 employees,” she said. “Throughout this journey, the mission was to build a platform for girls in tech and gaming, and this has remained a constant. The vision that ‘every girl is a hero’ has guided everything the company does, including the development of the game Star Stable Online.”
The company’s core product is its game, but it is into book publishing as well. It has 15 titles in 14 languages at present, which it plans to expand on. The team sees this as a great way to expand its brand by promoting its characters outside of the game. They also create their own music, with some of their characters being artists in the game. They have collaborated with female singer-songwriters and artists to bring their game characters to life. Malen’s interest in music began early on when as a youth, she went on tour with Europe, the legendary Swedish rock-band, which taught her about the industry and broadened her network. She has studied journalism and is passionate about communication and writing. She believes that entertainment is all about “emotion and connecting with people,” and loves working with creative individuals.
Along with that, the company has explored licensing opportunities with Just Play as their master toy, and collaborated with H&M in the Nordics to connect with brands that focus on female audiences. This year, they plan to expand onto new platforms such as Android as they continue to seek out ways to get their product into the market.
“The primary target of our game is girls, and we pride ourselves on being the world’s leading horse game,” she shared. “While horses are a crucial aspect of the game, it’s not just about collecting and riding them. Our game is full of magic, mystery and even evil forces that players can work to overcome and make Jorvik Island a better place.”
There is a lot of text in the game, so it’s essential for players to be able to read. Their core players are typically between the age group of 8-18 with 14 being the average age . “As young girls aspire to be like older girls, our player base spans a wide range of ages, making it challenging to target a specific age group. Our players tend to stay with us for around four years and more, with some of our oldest players staying for 10, which is quite a long time in the gaming industry. Overall, our game offers an exciting experience with weekly updates that keep our players engaged for an extended period.”
When the company began 11 years ago, the concept of a “girl gamer” was non-existent. They aimed to create a brand that focused on producing quality entertainment for girls who did not associate themselves with traditional video games that involved first-person shooting. Despite the industry’s slow start, it has become more receptive to female gamers in recent years. Although there is more entertainment available now that appeals to any gender, there is still room for improvement when it comes to creating content specifically for girls.
“There are a lot of men making the games and products. Women developers are quite scarce,” Malen said. “However, at the company where I work, we have more than 50 per cent women across the board, including younger generations. In general, I feel that the gaming industry has been male-oriented since the beginning and it still is. Based on my experience in the entertainment industry, I would argue that this is changing in the country where I am, but I’m not certain if this trend applies to the rest of the world.”
Malen shared that their new marketing initiative called ‘Ride With Us’ acts as a brand platform for the business. The platform’s purpose is to give customers a way to connect with the business regardless of their interests, age, or stage of life. The first campaign under this encourages everyone to take part in the community of the brand, highlighting the fact that despite differences in appearance and behaviour, there is still something that unites individuals.
To inspire more women to join the gaming community, she added, “The most important thing is to stay true to yourself and believe in what you want to do. If you have faith in yourself and trust your instincts, I think you can accomplish anything. I believe that as long as I stay true to my values, whether they are personal or professional, and trust my intuition, I can overcome any obstacle. If more women stand their ground and get the chance to be heard, the world will be a better place.”
Star Stable is currently working with Cake Entertainment and Ferly on their long form animation, the script for which is ready. They are looking for the final piece of financing and distribution before launching the production. Additionally, they have finalised a live action concept that they will soon start to pitch to companies around the world. Aimed at a young adult audience, they plan to produce this project with someone, yet to be seen.
