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Supercell's Ilkka Paananen says "it's no secret" that the studio is looking at further acquisitions

Also talks about how Pokemon affected sales

Supercell's Ilkka Paananen says "it's no secret" that the studio is looking at further acquisitions

Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen has confirmed the studio's commitment to acquiring more studios as it pushes for further growth in 2017.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Paananen stated that "it’s no secret we have been looking at other teams, and we are absolutely looking to a selective few acquisitions outside Helsinki and Finland as well".

"We have also started to grow Supercell's Shanghai office and taken the first steps to integrate into WeChat," he added.

Supercell made its first acquisition in September 2016 when it bought a majority stake in fellow Finnish developer Frogmind, known for its Badland series of games.

Just before that acquisition, Paananen told PocketGamer.biz the company was looking into potentially making investments in other developers and even opening up new studios outside of Helsinki.

Taking the hits

Paananen has also been discussing the impact Pokemon GO had on Supercell's business in 2016.

Speaking at his yearly address, he said: "Pokemon GO came along in the summer and many of our players shifted there.

"Players have more than 700,000 games to choose from. Game developers have to earn their players every single day.”

Supercell posted revenues of $2.3 billion on February 15th, an increase of 8% year-on-year. Its fourth game, Clash Royale, is estimated to have generated over $1 billion in revenues less than a year after it launched.


Editor

Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.