In 1997, Reto-Moto was founded as a video game developer in Copenhagen.[2] Before the studio finished any games, they struck a partnership with Danish film studio Nordisk Film in 1998 that would lead to the creation of a developer jointly owned by the two companies.[3] The resulting company, IO Interactive, was established on 16 September 1998,[4] with Reto-Moto's seven employees—Jesper Vorsholt Jørgensen, Rasmus Guldberg-Kjær, Martin Munk Pollas, Karsten Lemann Hvidberg, Jacob Andersen, Janos Flösser, and David Guldbrandsen—serving as the founders and initial staff of IO Interactive.[5][6] Nordisk Film and the seven founders each held a 50% stake in the venture.[6] By March 2004, Nordisk Film owned 40.3% in IO Interactive.[5]