This year marks the 10th year that we’ve conducted our Top 50 Developer list - now rebranded as Top 50 Mobile Game Makers.
Suffice to say, the mobile games industry has changed dramatically over the last decade. Back in 2009, Firemint was top of the pack, with Gameloft and Bolt Creative following close behind.
But time can be cruel. Many of the names on that list are unrecognisable today - though the likes of EA Mobile, Glu, Com2uS and Jam City (then known as SGN) notably remain.
Everything changes
Global industry consolidation, greater understanding of free-to-play and live ops, and Asia’s increasing influence over the West have changed the shape of the market.
In truth this has probably been the toughest list to assemble in our many years creating it. Some of the heavyweights - or those that perhaps might be expected to be at the top - have faded, while other giants are finding their groove again.
And then there’s the innovators and fast-growing mobile firms, the studios coming not quite out of nowhere, but bringing something new to the market, or upending their own businesses in the search for success. As such, there will be some notable absentees from this list.
That is not to say those companies are no longer important, but more that in 2019 we're projecting forward and this guide really belongs to the consolidators and the innovators.
The former being those companies that have built themselves up through clever M&A and a clear business strategy, and the latter to those that have forged their success by doing something markedly different, whether that’s finding new genres, building innovations on existing categories or adapting to new business models.
Click here to view the list »