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Roadhouse Interactive closes, King on why it's offering the DeFold game engine for free and Supercell's Ilkka Paananen on company culture

The hottest articles of last week

Roadhouse Interactive closes, King on why it's offering the DeFold game engine for free and Supercell's Ilkka Paananen on company culture

Supercell’s incredible success over the last few years with key games such as Clash of Clans, Boom Beach and Clash Royale has left many in the business in awe.

It’s easy to see then why our most read article of the week was our big interview with Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen, who discussed the company’s culture, expansion plans and how it’s tackling eSports to grow even bigger.

We also had an interview with another big player in mobile: Candy Crush Saga creator King to discuss their new game engine DeFold and why it’s available to developers for free.

Closures and partnerships

In third was the sad news that Vancouver-based Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast developer Roadhouse Interactive has closed, resulting in more than 100 job losses.

Finally, but by no means least, Supercell acquired a 51% stake in Badland developer Frogmind and Giftgaming’s Nick Hatter reveals how high eCPMs nearly killed his business, and how you can avoid this mistake.

Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our reader's attention last week.


Click here to view the list »
  • 5 How high eCPMs nearly killed my business and how to avoid this mistake

    How high eCPMs nearly killed my business and how to avoid this mistake logo

    There are many formulas for measuring revenues in the mobile games business, particularly for those who are making big user acquisition campaigns.

    Giftgaming CEO Nick Hatter says he’s worked with everyone from one-person indie shops to large publishers, and one of the most important things he’s learnt is:

    Effective cost per thousand impressions (eCPM) is one of the most misleading and overhyped metrics.

    Hatter goes as far to say that buying into this metric might even kill your company, like it nearly did his.


  • 4 Supercell acquires 51% of Badland developer Frogmind as the two studios enter a long-term partnership

    Supercell acquires 51% of Badland developer Frogmind as the two studios enter a long-term partnership logo

    After hinting to PocketGamer.biz that it was looking at acquiring or partnering with other developers, Supercell acquired a 51% stake in Helsinki-based developer Frogmind.

    The Badland will continue to act as an independent studio from Supercell and will also self-publish its games.

    Frogmind will use Supercell’s backing and expertise to fund and advise on its next three games currently in development

    Whether it’s the first of a number of acquisitions remains to be seen, but it continues to be an exciting time for Finland’s games industry.

  • 3 Update: Vancouver studio Roadhouse Interactive closes and lays off around 100 staff

    Update: Vancouver studio Roadhouse Interactive closes and lays off around 100 staff logo

    Vancouver-based Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast developer Roadhouse Interactive has closed.

    The studio had housed more than 100 employees and the decision to shut it down is a blow to the local games development scene, which has been supportive of those affected by the closure.

    After reports of the studio’s closure, the news was later confirmed by Roadhouse Interactive CEO James Hurthouse.

    Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast meanwhile will continue to be supported by publisher and owner Nodding Frog.


  • 2 Why King is entering the game engine space with DeFold and how it will help other devs launch their games

    Why King is entering the game engine space with DeFold and how it will help other devs launch their games logo

    In March, King made its own game engine DeFold freely available to other developers.

    It’s yet another challenger in the highly competitive game engine space that already includes the likes of Unreal Engine, Amazon Lumberyard and Unity, to name a few.

    So we caught up with King’s new evangelist Oleg Pridiuk to discuss just how the engine has advanced since then and what exactly it offers users.


  • 1 Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen talks company culture, expansion plans and eSports

    Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen talks company culture, expansion plans and eSports logo

    Supercell’s runaway success since the release of Clash of Clans and Hay Day has left much of the industry in awe of how it achieved such great success.

    The studio still only employs around 150 staff, but continues to release smash hits, most recently in the form of Clash Royale.

    To discover what makes this studio tick and how the magic is made, we spoke to Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen about the company culture and its plans for eSports.

    We also discussed Supercell's expansion plans, which could look to include both partnerships and acquisitions.


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Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.