Red Alert on top in China, Zynga picks up big-name IP, and Frank Gibeau talks company growth
Despite years in the doldrums, Zynga remains one of the industry’s biggest games companies.
Having completed a turnaround, the publisher is now eyeing a future of sustained growth. We caught up with Frank Gibeau to discuss how it plans to do that in our most read article of the week.
Our second hottest story relates to that discussion - Zynga has picked up mobile game licenses for Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Star Wars. Not bad.
Red Alert, EA and Marvel
Elsewhere, we published our weekly mobile game charts, revealing that Tencent’s Command & Conquer Red Alert Online has quickly topped the App Store download rankings in China while also becoming a top 10 grosser.
Lastly, EA’s finances show a stalled mobile business and FoxNext’s Marvel Strike Force has earned over $55 million in revenue worldwide.
#5: Marvel Strike Force has earned over $55 million worldwide
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Marvel Strike Force has earned over $55 million worldwide »FoxNext’s superhero brawler Marvel Strike Force has already earned $55 million, according to market data firm Sensor Tower.
The title was released in March and has proven a success for the new publisher.
In September alone the game brought in an estimated $8.9 million, an increase of eight per cent month-on-month.
It also picked up 1.2 million downloads, up 53 per cent from August.
#4: Madden Mobile and underperforming titles are holding back EA’s "stalled” mobile business
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Madden Mobile and underperforming titles are holding back EA’s "stalled” mobile business »While EA Mobile isn’t a shrinking business right now, it’s not experiencing much growth either.
FIFA Mobile is making up for falls elsewhere, with the company on the lookout for the next big hit. It likely hoped would have been The Sims Mobile would have been that, but it has yet to set the world alight through its earnings.
EA has some hope for the future though.
"We have a couple of titles performing below our expectations, and we've moved Star Wars: Rise to Power out of fiscal 2019,” said EA CEO Andrew Wilson.
“Command & Conquer: Rivals is performing well in soft launch, and FIFA Mobile is off to a strong start in China.”
#3: Weekly global mobile game charts: Tencent's Command & Conquer Red Alert Online rolls into China as a top grosser
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Weekly global mobile game charts: Tencent's Command & Conquer Red Alert Online rolls into China as a top grosser »Our weekly mobile game charts, in partnership with Sensor Tower, always offer up fascinating insights into industry trends.
Last week’s charts for the US, China, and Great Britain and Ireland were no different.
The biggest new entry was Tencent’s Command & Conquer Red Alert Online, which shot straight to the top of China’s App Store download chart and straight into seventh in the top grossing rankings.
It comes despite restrictions on new game licences and monetisation on games in China right now - something Tencent has felt the full force of with PUBG Mobile. That title has been unable to make any money, despite its huge popularity.
#2: Zynga bags Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Star Wars mobile game licences
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Zynga bags Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Star Wars mobile game licences »Zynga already has a strong set of IP, some obtained through the acquisitions of NaturalMotion and Gram Games.
It’s looking to revive some of its classics on mobile, such as FarmVille and CityVille.
And the resurgent mobile games publisher is also looking to harness external big-name entertainment IP for its new slate of titles.
Namely, it’s nabbed the rights to Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Star Wars mobile games.
#1: Frank Gibeau on how IP licensing will help Zynga to the next level
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Frank Gibeau on how IP licensing will help Zynga to the next level »Hot off the back of the news that Zynga has obtained some high profile licences in the shape of Game of Thrones, Star Wars and Harry Potter, we caught up with CEO Frank Gibeau.
He discussed just what the publisher hopes to achieve by utilising such huge IP and why the company is no longer in turnaround mode.
“Licences are really efficient at enabling you to build a global audience quickly and they also have great staying power,” said Gibeau.
“Yes, there might be some pushback on gross margins [because of royalties] but they also lower your risk.”