Changing The Game – Italian Company Milestone Is Quickly Becoming A Global Power

Milestone – the biggest Italian company specialized in the production and development of video games, and the fastest growing in the entire Europe, is opening its doors to an Antioch University’s journalist, me. 

A Little Bit Of History

Milestone is a worldwide famous company situated in Milan, Italy, which is specialized in the development and production of video games that are sold all around the globe. The company, at the current term, is the biggest Italian company specialized in video games, for products sold and size. In fact, Milestone has a total, including outsources, of 260 employees, with an average age of under 30 years old, while the second biggest Italian company that works in the same field has a an approximate of 20 employees. Milestone, under the management of Virgilio Bixio, who entered the company in 2012, has seen an enormous growth of products produced and sold per year. In fact, prior to 2012, under the previous management, Milestone used to develop only one video game per year, called Superbike, which used to sell an average of only 100.000 copies around the world. However, as for today, Milestone produces 4 video games per year with an average sale of 600.000 copies. In addition, Milestone is aiming to increase their current average sale of 600.000 to 800.000 products in a year time.

Products 

Milestone’s 2014/2015 products are: MotoGp 2015, Sébastien Loeb Rally Evo, RIDE, MotoGp 2014, MXGP The Official Motocross Videogame, WRC 4 World Rally Championship. Each Milestone’s product is meticulously created by a team of 24 young designers who are experts in computer graphic, and development of video games. In fact, behind every video games there is a complex work performed by specialists who dedicated several months of their life to make the best possible product in the market. Furthermore, each product is tested and created also with the help of external experts who help to make each video game even more realist. For example, Valentino Rossi, and other champions from Moto Gp, have widely contributed in the development of MotoGp 2014, and 2015, helping Milestone to make a product which is incredibly realistic and perfect in every single detail.

Keys To Success

The first time you enter the modern and technologic building of Milestone, you will wonder if you didn’t get the wrong address. In fact, at first it looks like you entered an university rather than a company that makes millions a year. However, as soon as you start speaking to these very young guys you realize that, finally, intelligence and creativity is recognized more than experience and age.

But let’s meet some of them directly!

Michele Caletti

1. Title and age: Lead Programmer of RIDE2, 39 years old 
2. What’s your occupation in Milestone? I’m the Lead programmer of the project RIDE2. This means that I deal with the planning and the coordination of the development of the game from the technical point of view, with a particular emphasis on the area planning. However, In the various stages of production my job consist in several things: the concept phase in which I discuss the technical feasibility of new features, planning in co-ordination with other departments what programmers have to follow, and the production and debugging. Lastly, I am responsible for specific technology choices and for the realization in time, quality and cost of the final project. 
3. What’s your opinion about Milestone? Milestone is the largest Italian game company, and one of the fastest growing in the world, especially in the racing genre. We develop games with passion and competence, with the aim of meeting a wide range of clients. 
4. What’s your opinion about the enormous number of young people who work for Milestone? Is it something positive or negative? I think it is positive, but you should never confuse young with competence. Many of the young people that work in Milestone are very competent and give a great contribution to the company. We also have a consolidated group of people who are a little less young, in which I count myself, who are mentors for the others, both under a technical and conceptual aspect, and this allows for continuity and stability over time.

Elisa Consolini

1. Title and age: Lead Graphics Production, 27 years old 
2. What’s your occupation in Milestone? My job at Milestone involves the management of graphic production. In fact, through references and cad/3D datas our goal to reproduce the reality of a specific game. For example, tracks, fans, settings, cars, motorcycles, or pilots. At the current term, the team, which I manage, is composed by 20 people who are specialized in the development of vehicles, characters, tracks, and vegetation. 
3. What’s your opinion about Milestone? Milestone has a dynamic and creative environment that is able, every day, to challenge and to give the opportunity to constantly grow under a professional perspective. 
4. What’s your opinion about the enormous number of young people who work for Milestone? Is it something positive or negative? I think it is extremely positive that an Italian company invests in young people, especially in a constantly evolving sector such as the gaming one. Young people, beside being more open to new ideas, also have an elasticity of mind and professionalism that allows them to express creativity on different levels, which is something that shouldn’t be overlooked when you work in an artistic environment.

Giovanna Ferrero

1. Title and age: Social Media Manager, 29 years old 
2. What’s your occupation in Milestone?  I work in the development, implementation, and coordination of the strategies that will be used for the web communication in all its various manifestations. This includes the website, social media, community, newsletter. 
3. What’s your opinion about Milestone? Milestone is a company in constantly development, which has the goal to continue to try to compete internationally, even through the economic crisis that is effecting Italy at this time. 
4. What’s your opinion about the enormous number of young people who work for Milestone? Is it something positive or negative? I strongly believe that it’s something positive. In fact, young people are the ones who have grown up with technology, and so they are the ones who are needed in order to be able to adjust to the continuos technological change. Furthermore, a young team, beside bringing an enormous amount of creativity, also allows for more creative and dynamic energy, which helps us be more competitive in the market.  

Mattia De Nadai

1. Title and age: Lead Programmer, 27 years old 
2. What’s your occupation in Milestone?  I work in the development management of the game called Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo. 
3. What’s your opinion about Milestone? Milestone is a rapidly growing company, composed by young people who are dynamic and passionate about video games. The working environment is very friendly and innovation-oriented. 
4. What’s your opinion about the enormous number of young people who work for Milestone? Is it something positive or negative?  The high number of young people makes Milestone dynamic and innovative in many fields.
   

Riccardo Santelli

1. Title and age: Outsourcer Manager, 64 years old 
2. What’s your occupation in Milestone? My job consists in following the whole process of selection of the Outsourcers – from the contractual and economic planning of their professional growth and size, to help them to reach the quality standards required from us through targeted visits and contacts. Furthermore, I also manage the planning and allocation of all contracted development activities that the company has decided to outsource and, lastly,  the specified dates of departures of activities according to the scheduled dates and the date of return of the same in terms of the contract – with the application of penalties, if our requirements are not met 
3. What’s your opinion about Milestone? Before joining Milestone I knew the company only from an outside point of view and from the results of the budget – the first impression was not positive as you might imagine. The key figures showed a company that was ” resting ” with enormous losses and sales that couldn’t sustain the costs. However, from 2013 I have witnessed a total transformation of the company, starting from the new management to a progressive change in all organizational processes; production , planning and control, which didn’t previously existed. All of this has resulted, in a very short time, to an unexpected productivity that has enormously increased the sales. 
4. What’s your opinion about the enormous number of young people who work for Milestone? Is it something positive or negative? For a company like Milestone could not be otherwise. The presence of so many young people is certainly positive when measured at a good indicator of potential; their presence is a symptom of vitality and innovation. However, as it is in all businesses, there is also the need of experience and managerial skills and this should be done through a process of internal growth. The present situation is certainly very critical, due to the high number of new employees who had been just hired, but it consists in a transition period.

 

For any additional information about the company/products visit – http://milestone.it/?lang=en