Playtika has closed its acquisition of Animals and Coins developer Innplay Labs, first announced earlier this month and valued at up to $300 million. It demonstrates its commitment to the strategic expansion of its mobile gaming portfolio by improving its capabilities in the luck battle genre. In turn, Playtika’s existing live-ops capabilities are expected to help drive the continued growth of its new subsidiary.

The acquisition marks the Israeli developer’s second strategic acquisition of the quarter, following its purchase of Azerion’s Youda Games portfolio in August.

“Since our founding and through our track record of optimising high-growth potential IP, like ‘Animals & Coins,’ Playtika has built a reputation for completing strategic acquisitions that deliver value to shareholders,” said Playtika president and chief financial officer Craig Abrahams. “This acquisition of Innplay Labs strengthens our position as a mobile games leader and is a testament to our commitment to investing in Israel as a global technology and innovation hub.”

Success in Israel

Israel’s gaming market was valued at $9 billion in September 2022, with mobile identified as the most popular platform. Social and casual games in particular have a competitive advantage in the Israeli market, and as a result, 74% of the company’s mobile developers specialise in the genres.

Playtika has been identified as one of the country’s biggest game makers; however it has had a somewhat turbulent year, suspending the development of new games following a rocky Q4 2022 and seeing talks regarding an acquisition of Rovio for $737.5 million falling through. Although, the company seems to be bouncing back. Of particular note is subsidiary Wooga, which recently secured a publishing deal with Netflix for its title Ghost Detective. These moves have helped put the company firmly in the limelight and seen investors grow more confident in its prospects despite lacklustre financials.

We listed Playtika as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2023.