Nifty Games has opened a Chicago office to make mobile sports games.

Nifty Games opens sports mobile game studio in Chicago

Fresh from raising $12 million in April, Nifty Games has opened a new sports game development studio in Chicago.

Nifty Games has hired 25-year game veteran David Michicich as the new studio’s general manager. He will head a team that works with titles such as NFL Clash, a new game licensed by the National Football League and NFL Players Association. NFL Clash will launch later this year, and is already being tested by some fans. And while Nifty Games isn’t revealing the gameplay yet, the company described it as “Supercell style,” referencing mobile strategy games like Clash Royale.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.