Mobile publisher Azur Games is set to acquire the portfolio of US-based publisher Tastypill in a major deal.
Tastypill publishes and develops hypercasual mobile titles such as Cart Crash, Claw Builder and Crash Tower and this deal will see the intellectual property rights, as well as the assets for these games transferred to Azur Games. Tastypill will remain independent - as the deal is not to acquire the company itself - and plans to continue developing games, now moving into the casual genre.
Azur Games has already sought deals of this kind before, such as with Pinpin team and KobGames Studios, so it’s not unexpected for an arrangement of this kind to take place.
Co-founder of Azur Games, Dmitry Yaminsky commented, “The impressive install count of Tastypill games is self-evident. They are stellar creations from a robust team with a look and feel that resonates with audiences. Our aim is to unlock the full potential of these titles using our in-house expertise and resources.”
While co-founder of Tastypill, Philip Kung added, “From day one, we’ve been very selective about who we partner with. These titles are important to us, so we wanted to find the right home for them. Transitioning them over to a seasoned publisher like Azur Games felt like the right move. Our games elevate their portfolio, and they’ve got the necessary expertise and resources to take these IPs to the next level.”
A big bet on hypercasual
The discussion on how well the hypercasual genre is performing on mobile has been an intense one over the past year. Azur Games seems to be putting their faith into the niche, however the decision by Tastypill to divest of their portfolio may speak to diminishing returns on their part. Although by no means a deadly drop, an 8% slide in installs quarter-on-quarter has raised concerns as to how well the hypercasual genre will perform in the near future.
However, the question of whether these acquisitions will pay off can only be answered by how hypercasual performs in the months and years to come. And with an increasingly saturated market, it may be more difficult than not to make these games pay dividends. It’s interesting to note that where one company is deciding to ditch hypercasual in favour of casual, another company is going all-in on the genre once more!
