Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: The industry wades in on Squad Busters from its “transformative impact” to being “corporate box ticking”
We asked the industry what it thinks of the sixth Supercell game to get a global launch
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
Sabrina Carmona
GM, Clash of Clans
Ilkka Paananen
CEO
Maya Hofree
GM, Hay Day
Touko Tahkokallio
Game Lead
Drew Haycock
Community Manager
Marika Appel
Community Manager, Clash of Clans
Tim Ebner
eSports
Fernanda Oliveira
Game artist
Ken Taya
Art Producer
Lasse Seppanen
GM, London
Sheila Ndungu
Marketing
Stefan Engblom
Game Designer
Lesley Mansford
Chief people officer
Sara Bach
President
Sari Latvala
Game Artist, Hay Day Visual Owner
Drussila Hollanda
Head of New Games
Ayushman Datta Gulpta
Games Designer
Laura Gilliland
Game Lead
Vladislav Perge
Community
Richard Bangs
Game Programmer
Jaakko Harlas
Head of Investments
Frank Keienburg
Game Lead
Victoria Tran
Data Scientist
+20 more
Accolades
Articles featuring Supercell
Ready For Launch
"Squad Busters is a love letter to Supercell IPs"
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen, Squad Busters game lead Eino Joas and marketing head Rob Lowe discuss the game's origins and why it's heading for a global launch on May 29th
Super Squad
Squad Busters releases globally tomorrow… But is it REALLY the next big thing?
Supercell’s sixth mobile game is almost here but as it gears for launch, how's the future hit performing?
Next Level Marketing
Squad Busters ad calls in big-name talent for its global launch
The game's live-action ad features Chris Hemsworth, Christina Ricci and more as real-world depictions of their in-game heroes
Launch Day
Supercell's Hay Day returns to China's App Store after four year absence
Farming simulator launched on May 15th, published by Tencent
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from a battle royale to a console classic remake
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Rising Stars
Genshin Impact still pulls in the big bucks while Squad Busters' soft launch teases blockbuster success
Sensor Tower's monthly gaming pulse for April reveals which games are the ones to watch
Road To Victoy
Squad Busters puts on another 10m pre registrations in 11 days
Supercell's upcoming global launch has just passed its 30m total pre registrations target way ahead of schedule
In Depth
Matej Lančarič's Squad Busters deep dive: Under the skin of 2024's biggest launch yet
UA and marketing expert Matej Lančarič examines the changes made throughout the game's development and its ongoing global launch strategy
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters supremacy, Brawl Stars bounces back, and a games industry journey at King
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Top Charts
April 2024 mobile game charts: Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile loses launch momentum and Brawl Stars’ astronomical rise
Our monthly look at the global mobile game rankings across the App Store and Google Play
Podcast | Episode 10
Brawl Stars smashes 2023 revenue, Square Enix’s extraordinary losses, and Haaland signs for Clash of Clans | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 10…
Week That Was
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The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Soft Launch Success
Squad Busters has 20 million pre registrations with 30 million in its sights
Supercell's on-going countdown to the games global release just celebrated its first major landmark
Squad Busters Science
Game Analysis: The evolution of Squad Busters
Game design expert Jakub Remiar takes a closer look at the tweaks Squad Busters has undertaken as it preps for its global launch
Brawling Boost
Brawl Stars has already earned more in 2024 than the entirety of 2023
Supercell's smash hit has recovered from a year-on-year decline with a strong start to the year
The Web3 Way
Supercell invests in web3 startup GFAL led by King, EA and Activision Blizzard veterans
GFAL has closed a $3.2 million seed funding round to grow its team and accelerate Elemental Raiders
New Partnerships
Man City and Norway striker Erling Haaland joins Clash of Clans
"I've been a huge fan of the game for a long time and know everything about it," says Haaland
Building Bricks
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen joins LEGO’s board of directors days after Squad Busters’ soft launch
Ilkka Paananen and YouTube Studio’s director of product Ebi Atawodi were appointed on April 26th
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters levels up, retro Nintendo on iOS, and Genshin Impact’s worst month yet
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 09
Supercell's Squad Busters goes global, Embracer Group splits, and Apple's Vision Pro flops | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 09…
Week That Was
Week in Views - Squads busted, Apple crushed, War zoned and Snoozin' with the Snorlax…
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Supercell Analysis
Have Supercell's changes supercharged its revenue?
We analyse the performance of Supercell's portfolio amid its restructure and ahead of the global launch of Squad Busters on May 29th
Here We Go
Supercell's Squad Busters launches globally on May 29th
Multiplayer squad-building action game will become the company’s sixth global launch and first in over five years
Super Start
Supercell’s Squad Busters ranks No. 1 for App Store game downloads in all soft launch countries
Multiplayer action game tops rankings in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, Spain and Sweden
Pgc Fireside Chats
Hear from the experts - eight fabulous fireside chats from PGC London 2024
At PGC London 2024 HyprMX sat down with the thought leaders, pioneers, creators and execs who are shaping mobile games. Here are eight of our favourites
Busting Out
Supercell’s Squad Busters soft launches today with over 100,000 Google Play downloads
Multiplayer squad builder now available in Canada, Denmark, Spain, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Singapore
Hot Five
Hot Five: XCOM Legends’ rumoured shutdown, Squad Busters verges on soft launch, and Royal Match reaches $3 billion
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Busting Out
Supercell’s Squad Busters heads into soft launch on April 23rd
Finnish developer takes another stab at a potential sixth global release
Hot Five
Hot Five: New VC funds for mobile, Turkish investments, and Baby Shark makes a splash in Brawl Stars
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Baby Brawlers
Brawl Stars collabs with YouTube’s most-viewed video Baby Shark
The partnership brings in-game cosmetics, a new challenge, and a Baby Shark pin to unlock
Super Stars
Brawl Stars crushed Clash of Clans’ monthly revenue in March
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Green Gaming
$700,000 raised in Playing for the Planet’s Green Game Jam 2023
40 games were entered into the Green Game Jam, focused on preserving three endangered species
Performance Boost
Game Analysis: How Supercell sparked a Brawl Stars resurgence
Gradient Universe founder Oxana Fomina dives into pivotal changes that Supercell implemented to improve the games performance
Team Factor
"Brawl Stars was very much on the edge"
Supercell's Frank Keienburg on how the developer deals with edge cases on metrics, and why the team's belief in a game matter
Jobs News
Mobile Movers: All the latest appointments and job moves from around the industry
Moving and shaking - there's new roles at Supercell, Keywords Studios, Microsoft, Griffin Gaming Partners, AdInMo and The Games Fund
Hot Five
Hot Five: Monopoly GO’s next-level UA, Supercell’s psychological analysis, and AI use for NPC dialogue
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 03
Inside Supercell's new development structure and TikTok's potential US ban | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 03…
Week That Was
Week in Views - The return of M&A, killing your darlings and Monopoly WHOA!
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Passing The Test
Supercell reveal Spark, applying science and psychology to build better teams and games
Taking game making to the next level, Supercell’s new internal system for getting ideas greenlit is sure to raise a few eyebrows…
Ramadan Kareem
Ramadan festivities unfold across mobile with a host of new content and events
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Mini Makeover
Supercell axes Clash Mini as "bold changes" get underway, but there’s still hope…
Supercell swing the axe once more… But Clash Mini won’t be shuttered but integrated into Clash Royale
Interview
Supercell’s Head of Live Games Sara Bach talks company changes, world-beating live ops, and how to get back on top
“Our games have grown quarter over quarter for the past 12 months and last month Supercell was back in the top ten mobile games publisher list”
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell revenues decline, Ubisoft’s mobile games plummet, but MTG signs a Monumental acquisition
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Future Plans
Supercell reveals year-on-year declines in revenue and EBITDA but promises "big and bold changes"
All the talk this morning at Supercell's financial reveal was about restructure, more trust and less distraction
Live And Direct
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen's annual blog for 2024: "Something absolutely had to change"
Taking to the stage this morning Paananen revealed the company's financials and spelt out his annual state of play
Supercharged
How Supercell is transforming for its next chapter
Supercell is modernising its culture. Will it lead to bloat or will the famous Finnish developer truly expand?
Hypercharged Performance
What's going on with Brawl Stars? Supercell's 2018 game is having a major payday
While 2023 was a perfectly good year for Brawl Stars the past two months have seen the game's earnings go stratospheric
Who's At The Show
A masterclass in gaming excellence: Gain insights from industry titans this month
Sharing knowledge and inspiring success: Learn from the masters at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2024, the premier gaming event of the year!
Support From Supercell
Supercell co-founder supports $1.6M funding round in Chinese publisher MyGamez
Supercell co-founder Mikko Kodisoja, Small Giant Games co-founder Timo Soininen, Reworks co-founder Ilkka Teppo and former Riot China head of operations Daniel Wang are on board