Meet Portal - The UK-based creative agency that's big in Sweden

gamesindustry.biz:

If you say the name Portal to most people in the games industry, what will jump to mind is Valve's classic first-person puzzle series.

But for some of the leading developers and publishers in Sweden, they might think of the UK-based marketing creative agency led by Josh Heaton.

Heaton is a familiar face to the team here at GamesIndustry.biz. He ran Gamer Creative, which was the multi award nominated in-house creative agency of our parent company and produced many impressive ad campaigns for publishers such as Sega, Creative Assembly and more… some you might have seen on our sister site, Eurogamer.

In 2019, Heaton formed Portal with his partner Elouise Godwin, another of our industry’s talented creatives, and despite being based in West Sussex, England, the team has found fame for its branding and marketing work in Sweden, particularly amongst developers and publishers such as Paradox, Fatshark, Avalanche Studio Group and Raw Fury.

"Portal's expertise, creativity, and professionalism have been instrumental in our success," says Hampus Erlandsson, who is head of Digital Marketing at Paradox Interactive.

Stephan Hentze Nielsen at Fatshark was equally praiseworthy: "Portal showed a large degree of understanding, flexibility and professionalism despite working with a condensed deadline."

Meanwhile, Ignacio Varas at Avalanche Studios Group used words such as "extremely attentive", "exceptional service" and "valuable partner" to describe the team.

So how come this British group of creative minds have made it so big in Sweden?

"The Swedish gaming market is fast-paced, young and growing, and there's a need for clarity and trust," Heaton explains. “The people that work there care about their IPs and we showcase that care