Games First Takeaways
4 takeaways from Supercell’s Games First Helsinki 2024
We round up the insights from a day of deep dives into the industry and game design practices
Company Profile
Supercell
Website
supercell.com/en/
About
Supercell is a mobile game development company based in Helsinki, Finland.
Founded in May 2010, the company's debut game was the browser game Gunshine.net, and after its release in 2011, Supercell started developing games for mobile devices.
Since then, the company has fully released four mobile games: Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, and Clash Royale, which are freemium games and have been extremely successful for the company, the first two generating revenue of $2.4 million a day in 2013.
Accel Partners invested $12 million in Supercell in 2011, and in October 2013 it was announced that the Japanese company GungHo Online Entertainment and its parent SoftBank had acquired 51% of the company for a reported $2.1 billion. On 1 June 2015, SoftBank acquired an additional 22.7% stake in Supercell, which brought their total stake to 73.2% of the company and made them the sole external shareholder.
In 2016, Supercell reported annual revenues of around €2.11 billion. In three years, the company's revenues have grown a total of 800 percent, from 78.4 million (2012).
In June 2016 Tencent announced a deal to acquire 84.3% of Supercell with USD 8.6 billion. Japan's SoftBank values Supercell at $10.2 billion.
In December, 2016 Supercell launched a web animated series Clash-A-Rama.
Related People
Stefan Engblom
Game Designer
Richard Bangs
Game Programmer
Sheila Ndungu
Marketing
Frank Keienburg
Game Lead
Jaakko Harlas
Head of Investments
Maya Hofree
GM, Hay Day
Ayushman Datta Gulpta
Games Designer
Lesley Mansford
Chief people officer
Tim Ebner
eSports
Drussila Hollanda
Head of New Games
Ilkka Paananen
CEO
Ken Taya
Art Producer
Drew Haycock
Community Manager
Laura Gilliland
Game Lead
Marika Appel
Community Manager, Clash of Clans
Victoria Tran
Data Scientist
Touko Tahkokallio
Game Lead
Sari Latvala
Game Artist, Hay Day Visual Owner
Fernanda Oliveira
Game artist
Sabrina Carmona
GM, Clash of Clans
Sara Bach
President
Lasse Seppanen
GM, London
+19 more
Accolades
Articles featuring Supercell
Brawl Stars Character Creation
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Jobs Roundup
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Emerging Markets
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Supercell London
Supercell hiring London team for Squad Busters
Three roles currently open for a "small cross-functional team" in the UK
Here Comes Halloween
Halloween hijinks get underway in Monopoly Go, Pokémon Sleep, Marvel Snap and more
Many developers are going spooky this month with tricks, treats and more planned for the days ahead…
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Jobs News
Supercell’s first-ever chief marketing officer departs
Fernanda Romano joined the Finnish developer as part of a shakeup in its management structure
Investment
Finnish developer Future Run secures second round of investment led by Supercell
The funds will go towards the continued development of the studio's cross-platform title Riot Ball
Best Of 2024
The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2024
The mobile movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!
Neverdale
Metacore ends Everdale development and returns IP to Supercell
Merge Mansion developer had also recently cancelled soft-launched title Sails of Fury
New Offerings
Supercell teams up with Hasbro to bring Transformers to Squad Busters
The collaboration marks the games first cross-promo event as Optimus Prime and Elita-1 join the Squad Busters roster
Green Gaming
PUBG Mobile, Beatstar, Hay Day, Merge Mansion and more take part in Green Game Jam
The fifth Green Game Jam looks to tackle pollution and climate change
Speaker Reveal
Rovio, Supercell, Raw Fury and No More Robots lead new wave of speakers at PG Connects Helsinki 2024
Just some of the 160+ experts leading our 21-track schedule
Career Tips
Five top tips for building a career in the Nordics
The Nordics are a highly sought-after destination for aspiring game developers here are five essential tips to help build a successful career.
New Beginnings
Supercell invests in new Finnish studio Redly Games led by former game lead Theo Chow
The Helsinki-based studio is working on a cross-platform 3D adventure game built with Unreal Engine 5
Devs Fight Back
Mobile gaming’s secret and not so-secret new blockbusters
It's a tough market, but a number of mobile games, new and old, are making waves
Tag Team
Brawl Stars teams up with WWE star John Cena to kick off its SpongeBob SquarePants collaboration
The collaboration sets in motion the celebration of SpongeBob SquarePants 25th anniversary with an in-game takeover of the hit Supercell game
Supercell's Superfest
Supercell to bring Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars championships together in historic SuperFest
This new event, SuperFest 2024, marks the first time all three games will hold their World Finals together
Hot Five
Hot Five: Squad Busters undergoes radical changes, Apple’s NFC update, and the winners of the Mobile Games Awards 2024 are…
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 26
The big stories and trends from Gamescom 2024 | Week in Mobile Games podcast
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Setting The Standard
Metacore celebrates double milestones for Merge Mansion
The game has passed $500 million in lifetime revenue and amassed 55 million app downloads
Jobs News
Mobile Movers: All the latest appointments and job moves from around the industry
Who's moving where?… There's new roles at FRVR, Raptor PR, Supercell, Krafton, Gadsme, Zynga, Xsolla, Netflix and more…
Major Changes
Game analysis: Squad Busters update makes radical changes on a quest for lasting success
Jakub Remiar takes us through Supercell’s latest changes to Squad Busters and what to expect next from the game
Performance Boost
Using a Multiple Paid Pass to boost player choice, rewards, playtimes and revenue
Gradient Universe founder Oxana Fomina explains how the next step from the familiar Battle Pass could be your next step to improved monetization
Jobs In Games
Supercell appoints Gerard Griffin as its new CFO
Griffin will work together with Supercell leadership to grow the company and contribute to business decisions
Hot Five
Hot Five: Squad Busters breaks $50 million, EA’s mobile blueprint, and Finland’s "survive to 2025" mantra
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Squad Spenders
Squad Busters takings pass $50 million, but how does it compare to Supercell’s greatest hits?
The US currently represents the game's biggest market share, where it's earned $19.6 million so far
State Of Play
The state of Finland’s games market
We speak with Finnish developers and executives about the Finnish games industry's challenges and the 'survive to 2025' mantra
Genre Mastery
Game Analysis: What does Project R.I.S.E mean for Supercell’s action RPG strategy?
Jakub Remiar shares all the details from the pre-alpha test of Project R.I.S.E and how it compares to mo.co and Riftbusters
Simulation Star
Gakuen Idolmaster got 1.5x Squad Busters’ downloads during its launch month
The idol title earned 40% of Bandai Namco Entertainment’s domestic mobile revenue during the period
Hot Five
Hot Five: Apple fees hit ads, Squad Busters’ first month reviewed, and Pokémon Go's eight years on top
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
High Hopes
Supercell's great expectations
For almost any other studio, Squad Busters would be a major hit. But is it enough for Supercell?
Podcast | Episode 19
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Top Charts
June 2024 mobile game charts: Dungeon & Fighter Mobile hits No. 1, and Supercell rises to No. 2
Our monthly look at the global mobile game rankings across the App Store and Google Play
Game Over?
Finnish startup Bitmagic raises $4 million for AI platform able to create games from text prompts
With Supercell as an investor the company has launched its platform on Steam Playtest as it seeks to "make game creation accessible to everyone"
Busting Out
Supercell’s Squad Busters hits $24m net revenue in first 30 days
Supercell's latest picked up 40m installs during its first 30 days
Hot Five
Hot Five: Garena Free Fire snipes $4BN, Pokémon dev Game Freak’s first mobile exclusive, and Supercell’s next project imminent
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Podcast | Episode 18
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New Game
Clash Heroes lives!… As new Supercell game Project R.I.S.E
RISING from the ashes of Clash Heroes and borrowing its assets comes a new "multiplayer, action-focused, social, RPG roguelite”
Hot Five
Hot Five: Japan’s newest stars, Nordic numbers, and Tripledot Studios’ acquisition
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Busting Out
Squad Busters generates $28 million in first three weeks
The latest numbers on Supercell's big new game launch
Matriarch Of Mischief
Clash Royale launches a brand-new mode Goblin Queen’s Journey with three exclusive cards
New cards unlocked in the Goblin Queen’s Journey will be playable in other game modes too
Hot Five
Hot Five: Zenless Zone Zero's 40m pre-registrations, Squad Busters' $10M in week one, and what iOS 18 REALLY means for games
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New Launch Success
Supercell's Squad Busters team tell all on what's become their biggest launch yet
As the game generates over $10 million and surpasses 30 million downloads, its team members explain how they made it a hit
Looking Back
A brief history of the mobile games industry
We take a look back at the last decade and a half of mobile gaming, analysing the key trends that built the industry we have now, and what the future holds for the sector
Supercell Surprise
"It wasn’t easy": Supercell's struggle to get Squad Busters included at Summer Game Fest
A mobile-only titles appearance at this year's show not only took its audience by surprise but required arm-twisting behind the scenes
Busting Out
Supercell’s Squad Busters picks up $10 million in first week
Brawl Stars earned $4.1m during its first seven days, according to Appfigures