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KEVIN XU, COO OF IGG INC, HAS TAKEN A PASSION FOR GAMING AND TURNED IT INTO A BILLION-DOLLAR COMPANY. HERE HE TELLS US HOW.

- NIKKI STEFANOFF

When Kevin Xu, IGG INC’s Chief Operating Officer, announced his plan to change the direction of the company from building PC games to developing mobile games, his employees thought he’d gone mad. His announcement of, “Let’s switch to mobile and go global and IGG will become a billion-dollar company,” was met with hesitation from colleagues and investors alike. However, almost seven years later, he’s proven he was right.

Tell us about your career so far and what led you to found IGG.

Prior to IGG, I was working as a nanotechnology scientist. Then, about a decade ago, a collective passion for online games and spotting an opportunity in the North American market encouraged me and my partners to found IGG.

Have you always been interested in the gaming industry?

I’ve always had a passion for gaming and I think one of the business’s core values, Innovators at Work, Gamers at Heart, explains how we all feel about the industry. It’s a statement that reflects the wonderment we feel about gaming – its ability to entertain us, bring us together and inspire us. It also speaks to our desire, as gamers, to continually push the frontier of what’s possible within the industry.

When you started IGG, what key opportunities did you see for the business?