How Midwest Games wants to spread the joy of game development

Ben Kvalo had a good run in the game industry, most recently in a role where he helped Netflix expand into the game business. His way of giving back and carving out a new path is starting Midwest Games.

After nearly five years at Netflix, Kvalo left California and started his company in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a state which has a growing community of game developers. He got it going at the end of 2022 as he was watching the indie space that he came to know well while working at Netflix.

Kvalo is trying to create a groundswell of growth in the region with support for MDEV, a Midwestern version of San Francisco’s Game Developers Conference. And he’s raising a new round of funding soon.

And since the fledgling industry needs a boost, Midwest Games is also working with the Entertainment Software Industry, the naitonal game industry trade association, to get a 30% video game development tax incentive in the state of Wisconsin...