Machine Zone reduced to minimal core team operating Game of War and Mobile Strike

US developer Machine Zone now operates with a “minimal core team” supporting legacy titles Game of War and Mobile Strike.

The company, recently acquired by Tripledot from AppLovin as part of an $800 million deal for its entire games business, has previously been hit by a number of layoffs.

We reported last month that according to a California WARN filing, 97 AppLovin staff were being axed, including Machine Zone's CEO and design director. A previous notice listed the studio’s CTO as being affected by the job cuts.

One former staff member had claimed “most of Machine Zone was shut down”.

Mobile legacy

In an interview with PocketGamer.biz, Tripledot CEO Lior Shiff confirmed that the studio, responsible for a number of multi-billion dollar 4X strategy hits, was being acquired as part of the AppLovin deal and had not been closed.

At present, there are no plans for Machine Zone to start work on new games. Its last new title, the soft-launched Reign of Vampires, was cancelled. Shiff confirmed the team it’s acquiring does not currently have the capacity to develop new projects.

Game of War was first launched in 2013, while Mobile Strike was released in July 2015. The titles went on to make billions of dollars in revenue and were also notable for their large user acquisition campaigns that involved celebrity partnerships with the likes of Kate Upton and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Machine Zone had also worked on another $1bn game, Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire, which went offline at the end of 2024.

“Because those games have so much heritage in history and legacy, I think we will try to help them maintain those for the very loyal userbase in the best way possible,” said Shiff.

The acquisition of AppLovin's games business will close in summer 2025. Shiff said Tripledot may look to change its plans, but for now the studio will focus on those legacy games.

According to AppMagic estimates, Game of War generated $1.4m in the first four months of 2025, while Mobile Strike accumulated $2.8m.

Diversified portfolio

Tripledot’s core business is in the casual games space, with its most popular titles including Woodoku, Solitaire and Triple Tile.

As well as Machine Zone, Tripledot’s deal for AppLovin’s games business also nine other companies: Lion Studios, Belka Games, Clipwire Games, Magic Tavern, PeopleFun, Leyi, Athena Studio, ZenLife and Zeroo Gravity.

Shiff recognised the acquisition as a transformational one for the UK developer. It brings the company from an ads-focused business to a 50/50 split with IAP-driven titles, takes daily active users from 12m to 25m, and grows annual gross revenue to nearly $2 billion.

“We will be one of the most, if not the most, diversified mobile games companies at scale,” said Shiff.