Supercell invests in Redemption, SDKs aren't done yet, and MZ changes CEO
The top story of the last week came courtesy of Clash Royale dev Supercell acquiring a minority stake in California studio Redemption Games for $5 million.
The investment also represents the Finnish developer’s first investment made outside of Europe.
Redemption Games is primarily known for its casual puzzle games and was formed in 2015 by co-founders Michael Witz and Dan Lin.
Next up on our Hot Five was Iron Source COO of mobile Tal Shoham and his piece about the SDK. According to him, the demise of the SDK has been greatly exaggerated.
MZ, no Go, and Lost Island
Third up is the news MZ CEO Gabe Leydon is leaving the Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire developer 10 years after he founded it.
Rounding off the Hot Five is the news that Square Enix Montreal is no longer working on the Go series. We also caught up with Plarium producer and director of game design Dima Karger to talk about new title Lost Island: Blast Adventure
#5: Following its $500m takeover Plarium expands into the casual games space with Lost Island: Blast Adventure
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Following its $500m takeover Plarium expands into the casual games space with Lost Island: Blast Adventure »Last week saw the launch of Lost Island: Blast Adventure, Plarium’s foray into the casual games market.
The studio is better known for its 4X strategy games and RPGs such as Vikings: War of Clans, Stormfall: Age of War and Throne: Kingdom at War. These titles are typically more tuned for a more midcore to hardcore audience.
Success in that space led to Plarium being acquired by Australian casino company Aristocrat Leisure in 2017 for $500 million
Chatting to PocketGamer.Biz, Plarium producer and director of game design Dima Karger confirmed that the studio was not moving on from the hardcore market. Rather, just trying something new.
#4: Square Enix Montreal no longer working on the Go series
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Square Enix Montreal no longer working on the Go series »Square Enix Montreal has called time on its popular Go series on mobile.
That's according to studio head Patrick Naud who said that the premium mobile games market is becoming increasingly difficult to see success in. This is a challenge that Square Enix Montreal has been aware of for some time.
The franchise had included premium mobile spin-offs of popular titles Hitman, Lara Croft and Deus Ex Go.
"The Go series was a great adventure for us as a studio," said Naud. "We've done the three games, we've seen the wind. The hardest element is making premium games on mobile."
#3: MZ CEO Gabe Leydon leaves Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire developer
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MZ CEO Gabe Leydon leaves Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire developer »MZ CEO Gabe Leydon has taken the decision to leave the Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire developer 10 years after founding it.
Next up on the agenda for Leydon will be heading up MZ’s technology platform Satori as a standalone business. It's not clear how MZ will be involved in the business moving forward.
Replacing Leydon as CEO of MZ is Kristen Dumont, who has served as the company's COO since 2015.
#2: The end of the SDK? Not so fast
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The end of the SDK? Not so fast »The trials of SDK-bloat and an oversaturated ad tech market are nothing new.
That line of thought comes from Iron Source COO of mobile Tal Shoham, who further notes that the topic of the relevance of SDKs is coming up again.
The reason is because of the rise of in-app header bidding and programmatic in app, with some providers in the industry even promising SDK-less solutions.
"There are several key issues with this proposition, not the least of which is that there is no such thing as a pure non-SDK solution,"wrote Shoham.
"Even purportedly ‘SDK-less’ solutions involve an SDK integration somewhere. This is simply because SDKs allow for much more sophisticated technological capabilities which are necessary on mobile."
#1: Supercell invests $5 million in US mobile developer Redemption Games
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Supercell invests $5 million in US mobile developer Redemption Games »Finnish Clash Royale developer Supercell has made its first investment outside of Europe.
It is none other than Redemption Games, in which it bought a minority stake in for $5 million.
The US company has previous experience working with publisher Scopely and focuses on developing casual puzzle titles.
Redemption was formed in 2015 by co-founders Michael Witz (pictured, main) and Dan Lin, who sold their previous company Mob Science to Jam City (then SGN).
The newly backed games developer hopes to use the funding to support the development of new IP. It’s not, it says, part of a publishing relationship.