Novel, Inc. is a video game studio and enterprise simulation developer, based in Kirkland, Washington, United States. Novel is known for being both a traditional

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developer and bridging the gaming and business world with enterprise simulations. The latter work, being deemed by press as "

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

for businesses," was ranked by

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

as one of the Top 30 Most Underrated Innovations of 2010 at #18 between

Gmail Gmail is a free email service provided by Google. As of 2019, it had 1.5 billion active users worldwide. A user typically accesses Gmail in a web browser or the official mobile app. Google also supports the use of email clients via the POP and ...

#19 and the

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...

#17. Novel is led by a leadership team made up of video game industry veterans from EA,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington. It is a studio owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones afte ...

Turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...

Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tim Burton, and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Car ...

and

Playdom Playdom was an online social network game developer popular on Facebook, Google+ and Myspace. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area by University of California, Berkeley graduates Ling Xiao and Chris Wang and Swarthmore College g ...

. Novel was founded by the young American entrepreneur Brayden Olson who continues to be the company’s chief executive. The company's first major videogame release, Empire & State was released November, 2011. Empire & State is a massively multi-player game offering a completely dynamic world controlled by players. In one interview with Lead Designer Mike Marr, it is described as "Civilization 5 with hundreds of players fighting Risk-style on a hex map, but with the focus on politics and economy". Novel has an announced partnership with the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

’s Center for Leadership & Strategic Thinking, which is part of the

University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business The Michael G. Foster School of Business is the business school at the University of Washington in Seattle. It was founded in 1917. The school has more than 50,000 alumni, and is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Busin ...

. The stated goal for the partnership is to, "become the undisputed heavy weight champions and thought leaders in the new enterprise simulations space." It was also announced that this simulation was being built for a yet unnamed Fortune 1000 company in the Pacific Northwest. The specific details of Novel’s first enterprise simulation have not yet been announced. However, based on what has been released, Novel’s work was named by

as one of the Top 30 Most Underrated Innovations of 2010, and hailed by the reporter as, "by far one of the most exciting things (though sadly still in concept stage) that I’ve ever heard of."

References

{{Reflist Video game companies of the United States Video game companies established in 2009 Video game development companies Companies based in Kirkland, Washington 2009 establishments in Washington (state) Privately held companies based in Washington (state)