Supercell on why cell structure is super, Subway Surfers hits 52.5m downloads in June, and Mobile Strike grabs $1 billion
The past week saw our team return from Finland for our Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki conference. It is apropos then that our most read feature of the week comes from Finnish development giant Supercell.
Founder Ilkka Paananen took to the stage at GDC earlier this year to discuss the company’s team-first cell structure and why it’s breathed success into the studio.
Following on SYBO CEO Mathias Nørvig took to a different stage at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki to delve into Subway Surfers. Nørvig revealed that the endless runner hit a monthly download record of 52.5 million in June 2018 - six years after release.
Mobile Strike, Nexon and Fort Mason Games
Elsewhere, Mobile Strike has racked up over $1 billion in revenue for developer MZ since launching back in 2015.
Rounding off, Nexon swapped up US offices in California to better reflect company culture and former Zynga director Kate Gorman's Fort Mason Games has revealed its first project.
#5: Former Zynga director Kate Gorman's Fort Mason Games reveals first project
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Former Zynga director Kate Gorman's Fort Mason Games reveals first project »Former Zynga director of product Kate Gorman has revealed all-women start-up Fort Mason Games' first game.
Founded back in 2016, its first game will be called Confetti Casino and will follow the company's ethos as a social and casino gaming title.
Gorman joined Zynga at 21 and helped kick-start that company’s social casino slots operations.
She departed the company six months before founding Fort Mason Games with the intent to build a “billion-dollar business”.
#4: Nexon swaps up US offices in California to reflect company culture
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Nexon swaps up US offices in California to reflect company culture »Maple Story developer Nexon has relocated its US branch to a new headquarters half-a-mile down the road.
Previously found in the Pacific Coast Highway, the games developer can now be found in Hawaii Street.
According to the developer, the change to a creative freestanding building will allow it to better reflect company culture.
The property will also allow Nexon to house the entire company under one roof and is 49,307 square feet in size.
One of two floors in the new building is dedicated to studio space with multiple streaming rooms, editing suites and a 15,000 square foot gaming area.
#3: Mobile Strike racks up over $1 billion in revenue for Machine Zone
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Mobile Strike racks up over $1 billion in revenue for Machine Zone »Players have spent over $1 billion on MZ’s 4X strategy title Mobile Strike.
According to Sensor Tower, the war-themed game has made $1.3 billion in total across the App Store and Google Play since launching in 2015.
The US market was by-and-large the most significant contributor, with 55 per cent of income hailing its players.
Following on Japan proved the second most popular country and stumped up 13 per cent of revenue.
#2: Subway Surfers hit monthly download record of 52.5m in June 2018
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Subway Surfers hit monthly download record of 52.5m in June 2018 »SYBO hit its best month ever concerning downloads in June 2018 when endless runner Subway Surfers ran up 52.5 million downloads.
Launched six years ago, it has since generated more than 2.1 billion downloads in total.
Speaking at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2018, SYBO CEO Mathias Nørvig said he couldn't be sure as to why June 2018 was the game’s best month.
However, he wagers it’s down to some factors including its new short-form animations and a push into China.
Nørvig went on to describe the title as “the most popular game you’ve never heard of”.
#1: Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen explains why its cell structure puts developers before management
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Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen explains why its cell structure puts developers before management »Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen took the stage at GDC earlier this year to delve into the company’s team-first cell structure and why it brought success.
According to Paananen, while his previous positions in games followed a very traditional top-down management style, Supercell’s cell structure opts to place power in the hands of development teams.
“The problem is that this type of process doesn’t favour truly innovative,” said Paananen.
“If you’re gonna build something from scratch, that doesn’t exist yet, you can’t build a case like that around it.
“Most of the big innovative things, they are things like Clash Royale that did something new - but you don’t understand until it’s out there.”