Explaining Supercell’s M&A strategy, Wooga back to profitability, and Full XP snags new CTO
Finnish mobile games darling Supercell is the industry’s most admired developer due to its hit, market-leading games and company culture.
Such admiration can beg the question, however, on how that affects those acquired by Supercell.
Do Frogmind, Space Ape, Shipyard, Trailmix and Redemption suffer from being in the giant's shadow or do they instead enjoy the safety blanket it brings? Contributing editor Jon Jordon explored the question for us and gave us our most read article in the process.
Second up was the news that Berlin-based developer Wooga managed to become profitable again following two tough years for the studio.
Hires, IPOs and casual games
Hopping back over to Finland for entry three, Finnish publisher Full XP appointed Next Games alumni Eliza Ralph as its new chief technology officer.
Rounding off our Hot Five is the news that Flexion Mobile snagged an IPO listing and MAG Interactive's casual game Paint Hit passed the one million downloads mark.
#5: MAG Interactive’s Paint Hit makes a splash with one million downloads in one day
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MAG Interactive’s Paint Hit makes a splash with one million downloads in one day »Mobile developer MAG Interactive's casual game Paint Hit has made a splash with one million downloads.
The paint ‘em up shooter took just one day to achieve the feat after it launched on the App Store and Google Play.
On top of that, it also managed to bag the number one spot on the Google Play casual games chart in the US.
Gameplay in Paint Hit focuses on players trying to shoot paintballs at colour spinning towers over hundreds of increasingly challenging levels. With each paintball throw colouring a part of the tower, it becomes increasingly difficult to hit uncoloured portions with the next attempt.
#4: Flexion Mobile set for IPO listing on June 13th
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Flexion Mobile set for IPO listing on June 13th »Android distribution channel Flexion mobile has received approval from Nasdaq First North for an initial public offering in Stockholm.
The first day of trading in Flexion shares commenced on June 13th.
“Today, is a big day in our company history,” said Flexion Mobile CEO Jens Lauritzson.
“It is a start of a new and exciting chapter as a public company and we are looking forward to continuing to serve an increasing number of game developers around the world”
#3: Finnish publisher Full XP names Eliza Ralph as CTO
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Finnish publisher Full XP names Eliza Ralph as CTO »Finnish publisher Full XP has snagged Next Games alumni Eliza Ralph as its new chief technology officer.
In the new role she’ll be responsible for leading the company’s technical direction and strategy.
The firm offers a number of services to developers including localisation, monetisation design and balancing, marketing, PR and live operations.
Ralph said she hopes her appointment as CTO will help encourage other women to consider a career in technology.
#2: Pearl’s Peril studio Wooga profitable again after 'two tough years'
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Pearl’s Peril studio Wooga profitable again after 'two tough years' »Berlin-based games developer Wooga has managed to become profitable again after two years of hardship.
Over the last 12 months the studio’s revenues have seen growth of 40 per cent, thanks by-and-large to its story-driven hidden object game June’s Journey.
The picture lays in sharp contrast to the September 2016, when 40 employees lost their jobs following an internal restructuring. The aim then was to focus on genres such as puzzle, hidden object and casual simulation.
The change didn’t stick and just over a year later Wooga again restructured. This time Wooga opted to focus efforts on narrative-driven casual games, which resulted in the loss of another 30 jobs.
#1: The madness and method of Supercell’s M&A philosophy
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The madness and method of Supercell’s M&A philosophy »Mobile games darling Supercell garners a lot of praise and lavish for both its success and company culture.
It's not hard to see why either, with the Finnish developers championing a culture of creativity with ample personal space to do so. The same ethos is extended to the studios under Supercell's kinship.
After acquiring Redemption games, Supercell’s CEO Ilkka Paananen explained that Supercell’s M&A activity remains as hands-off as his management style.
“It's all about independence, trust and encouraging risk-taking and long-term thinking,” he said.
“So that will be the case with Redemption, just like it is with Frogmind, Space Ape, Shipyard and Trailmix. Of course, we'll always be here for advice and support if they need us, but it's up to them.”