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Supercell revenues drop to $2.25 billion due to lack of new games and falling sales in Clash of Clans

Pressing on into China and Asia in 2018

Supercell revenues drop to $2.25 billion due to lack of new games and falling sales in Clash of Clans

Supercell has seen revenues and profits fall due to a lack of new releases in 2017 and a drop in sales for Clash of Clans.

As reported by Reuters, the developer posted revenues of €1.8 billion ($2.25 billion) for 2017, down 14% year-on-year. Profits fell by 20.5% year-on-year to €729 million (€901 million) for the year.

While exact figures were not revealed, Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen stated that Clash of Clans saw the most significant drop in revenues. He also said that "our games are one year older, and in the West, they are not growing at the pace they used to."

Heads down

To boost revenues in the coming year, the developer is looking to increase its presence in China and Asia. It will also continue work on its soft-launched multiplayer title Brawl Stars, though it will not launch until it feels confident the game is ready to match the success of other titles.

"In the short term, it would be tempting to put a game out fast to fix the numbers, and to keep the growth going. But none of our development teams wants to be the one to release our fifth best game," said Paananen.

2017 saw Supercell make a number of investments in other developers, including buying a 62% stake in Space Ape for $55.8 million. It also invested $2.9 million in Shipyard Games, and kicked off 2018 with a $4.2 million investment in startup studio Trailmix.

Clash of Clans and Clash Royale were previously estimated to have generated $2.4 billion between them in 2017 by SuperData Research. Despite falling sales, the two games still regularly appear on top ten worldwide grossing charts each month.


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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.