Clash of Clans AR, Skillz is the fastest growing US company, and Rovio might IPO
Everyone and their dog is looking to IPO lately it seems, so it was only a matter of time before rumours about Rovio going public started to circulate.
But perhaps it was the suggestion that it would be valued at $2 billion that got our readers' interested in the story, as it was our most read article of the week.
Second on our Hot Five is the news that eSports firm Skillz has been recognised as the fastest growing company in the US, thanks to it growing its revenue by 50,000% in the last three years.
Building, buying and trending
Third up is the news that Facebook and Supercell have partnered to let Clash of Clans' Builder enter the world of AR and seek out new projects to build in the real world (sort of).
And finally, eSports company Overwolf has acquired Clash Royale stat-tracking website StatsRoyale.com, and Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad stops by to write about mobile gaming trends in China.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our reader's eye over the last week.
#5: China mobile game trends in H1 2017: Tencent and NetEase dominate iOS charts
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China mobile game trends in H1 2017: Tencent and NetEase dominate iOS charts »If you want to know more about what's happening in China, it's usually best to turn to an expert - and Niko Partners' Daniel Ahmad is definitely one.
He stopped by to share his insights into the current state of the China mobile games market, which mainly revolve around Tencent ruling everything.
"Tencent continues to dominate in China with its MOBA game Honor of Kings. The game was the number one title on both the iOS revenue and download charts for H1 2017. It saw its revenue grow over 300% year-on-year and downloads were up 135% year-on-year on iOS," he wrote.
"Both increases were driven by new content, in-game events and eSports competitions. In fact, the game is so big in China that it was also the number one most downloaded game on iOS globally for the first half of 2017, beating the likes of Super Mario Run and Clash Royale."
#4: Tel Aviv-based eSports tech firm Overwolf acquires Clash Royale statistics site StatsRoyale
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Tel Aviv-based eSports tech firm Overwolf acquires Clash Royale statistics site StatsRoyale »Some people in the world take Clash Royale very, very seriously. So seriously that they keep a track of all the card stats and game meta using websites like StatsRoyale.
And that's caught the attention of eSports company Overwolf, which has now acquired the aforementioned website for an undisclosed sum.
"I wasn't really a mobile gamer before Clash Royale. Supercell's amazing execution on the game captured me completely, and I was actively thinking on how we could help the Clash Royale with tools and services," said Overwolf CEO Uri Marchand.
"I felt that there's a very strong alignment between our core offering in Overwolf and StatsRoyale.com. Most importantly, I felt a perfect cultural alignment with the team that had built it, led by the talented Steve Rabouin, putting gamers first and thriving for a pixel-perfect user experience."
#3: Supercell partners with Facebook on Clash of Clans AR experience to celebrate the games' five-year anniversary
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Supercell partners with Facebook on Clash of Clans AR experience to celebrate the games' five-year anniversary »Clash of Clans players have been missing their Builder lately as he's off to find a new job, which has led to some interesting social media ventures.
One of these has been a partnership between Supercell and Facebook to bring the builder into AR, allowing Clash fans to put the Builder just about anywhere they want in the real world.
"In as little as five years, Supercell has built one of the most vibrant game communities in the world through Clash of Clans," said Leo Olebe, Director of Global Games Partnerships at Facebook.
"Using the AR Studio tool on Facebook's Camera Effects Platform, Supercell is giving Clash fans a chance to celebrate and become a character most deserving of some love. We're proud to team up with Supercell, and we're happy to finally give the Builder a chance to work on some new, hopefully more rewarding projects."
#2: Skillz named fastest growing company in the US after growing revenues by 50,000% over three years
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Skillz named fastest growing company in the US after growing revenues by 50,000% over three years »Skillz is one of those companies that appears to have shot up out of nowhere, thanks to the explosive rise of eSports over the last few years.
But not only has it become one of the biggest eSports players out there, it's also managed to greatly increase its revenues by over 50,000% in its first three years.
It's a feat that's been recognised by Inc. Magazine, which has listed the company as the fastest growing firm in the US.
This is the first time an eSports company has managed to top the list, which is impressive by anyone's standards.
#1: Report: Angry Birds developer Rovio plots IPO
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Report: Angry Birds developer Rovio plots IPO »It feels like everyone's having a good old IPO these days, so it was only a matter of time before one of the bigger mobile players decided to get in on the action.
So it's no real surprise that rumours are ciruculating about a potential IPO from Rovio, which could value the company at $2 billion.
In doing so, Rovio would raise around $400 million, which would go towards financing The Angry Birds Movie 2 and any future games it has in store.
But it's all just rumours and speculation for now - the developer hasn't officially said anything about an IPO yet, so it could well turn out to be false.