Gaming Industry veteran Max Bevilacqua has officially announced his return to startup game development with the launch of a new studio, Capsule15, where he will serve as Founder and CEO.
The announcement was shared through LinkedIn, with Bevilacqua stating that he is “back in the trenches” and ready to start building again after spending the last several years working in leadership roles across major mobile gaming companies.
Capsule15 is based in Barcelona, Spain, and its first project appears to be a cozy management title called Shopopia. Early visuals shared online show players building and managing a colorful food shop populated by cute animal characters, with the game carrying a lighthearted and casual art direction.
The game’s tagline reads: “Build your dream shop and watch it thrive alongside a cast of adorable animal friends.”
Bevilacqua brings 18 years of experience across mobile and free-to-play gaming. Most recently, he served as Studio Director at Voodoo between September 2024 and May 2026. Before that, he worked at Bandai Namco Mobile as Game Lead and also spent over five years at GameHouse, where he helped manage Delicious World, a free-to-play time management title.
This is also not his first startup journey. Earlier in his career, he co-founded 5 Ants, another Barcelona-based game studio, which he led for more than five years.
The move also reflects a growing trend where experienced gaming industry veterans are returning to smaller independent studios to build original projects.
Recently, former Remedy and Wargaming veterans Matias Myllyrinne and Mikko Uromo launched Mainstay Games, while industry veteran Ville Rauma also announced the new studio Demon Squirrels Game Studio alongside its debut title Song of the Fight.
With Shopopia now revealed as Capsule15’s debut project, more details about gameplay, platforms, and launch plans are expected to follow in the coming months.
Stories to explore:
