The Most Profitable Mobile Game Developers
Love it or hate it mobile gaming is driving industry growth, accounting for roughly one-third of the $74.2 billion global games market. Previously unheard of companies are valued well into the billions thanks to their addictive free to play titles, and traditional development studios are reallocating resources to bolster mobile divisions. Mobile is a sector that cannot be ignored. I decided to list some mobile companies that have earned inordinate profits along with their flagship titles. While some companies sit like titans on their throne, newer companies are rapidly growing and may become the new kings.
[singlepic id=30847 w=428 h=240 float=none]
SuperCell Games
Known For: Clash of Clans
Supercell Games 2014 Revenue: $1.8 billion
It should come as no surprise that SuperCell Games sits securely in the #1 spot, averaging 4 million concurrent users from Clash of Clans alone. The unprecedented success is nearly stupefying, helping Supercell earn $892 million in 2013 and turn the Finnish development company into a $5.5 billion studio, according to investor Softbank. From 2013 to 2014 SuperCell Games tripled its revenue and doubled its earnings, accumulating ~$5.5 million daily. What’s more impressive is that Supercell has an overall staff of only 150 employees whereas rival developer King employs 1,200 but can’t compete against Clash of Clans.
[singlepic id=36374 w=428 h=240 float=none]
Gungho Online Entertainment
Known For: Puzzle and Dragons
Gungho 2014 Revenue: $1.5 Billion
Gungho Online Entertainment’s Puzzles and Dragons was the first mobile game to generate $1 billion in revenue, based on fiscal performance ending in December 2013. According to SuperData Research the connect-three puzzler earns an average of $11.89 per user (APRU), compared to Clash of Clans’ $1.31, adding up to a whopping $1.5 billion in revenue for Gungho in 2014. Since it’s 2012 launch Puzzle and Dragons has been downloaded more than 50 million times. It’s success lead to a partnership between Nintendo and Gungho for the release of Puzzle & Dragons Z for the Nintendo 3DS.
[singlepic id=36369 w=428 h=240 float=none]
King Digital Entertainment
Known For: Candy Crush Saga
King 2014 Revenue: $1.3 billion
The game no women over the age of 40 in my family can resist, Candy Crush released on April 12, 2012 for Facebook and on November 14, 2012 for iOS, Android, Fire OS, Windows Phone, and Tizen. In 2014 players spent over $1.3 billion on in-app purchases, and that’s with quarterly spending having fallen from the previous year. In 2013 Candy Crush is estimated to have generated $1.54 billion. By monetizing the number of lives available to players King Digital Entertainment has motivated my aunt to spend more money on Candy Crush Saga than she puts in the Sunday collection basket. But Q4 2014 was the first time Candy Crush Saga did not make up more than half of King’s revenue, amidst worries that King relies too heavily on Candy Crush. The company has to diversify its catalog if it wants to be king of mobile games once more.
[singlepic id=36370 w=428 h=240 float=none]
Machine Zone
Known For: Game of War
Machine Zone 2014 Revenue: ~$600 million
Amidst numerous legal battles Machine Zone still manages to be one of the most profitable mobile studios. Game of War launched in 2013 but it didn’t rise to fame until 2014 when approximately $40 million was spent on marketing, linking buxom beauty Kate Upton with the mobile game. The ads were super effective, allowing Game of War to momentarily pass Clash of Clans in the top grossing charts in February 2014. The aggressive strategy helped Game of War generate a reported $600 million in 2014, and lead to speculation that Machine Zone was in talks for financing at a $6 billion valuation. But now that Upton has been replaced by Mariah Carey it remains to be seen how well Machine Zone will fare.
[singlepic id=36372 w=428 h=240 float=none]
Kabam
Known For: Marvel: Contest of Champions
Kabam 2014 Revenue: ~$400 million
Throw “Marvel” in front of anything and it’s bound to spark interest. In the case of Publisher Kabam, Marvel: Contest of Champions helped raise the company's 2014 revenue to $600 million. According to Touch Arcade the game has generated $100 million so far with more than 40 million downloads worldwide and planned expansion into China. Marvel: Contest of Champions will be gracing app stores worldwide for quite some time. It’s worth noting that Chinese based company Alibaba invested $120 million into Kabam, and Marvel: Contest of Champion is just one of five games that have generated more than $100 million for Kabam, along with The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-Earth. Kabam’s revenue has been steadily increasing every year and shows no signs of slowing down.
[singlepic id=36375 w=428 h=240 float=none]
Known For: Summoners War
Com2uS 2014 Revenue: ~$215 million
Korean company Com2uS owes much of its profit to oversea sales driven by two titles: Ace Fishing and Summoners War, with 73% of sales being overseas. Even in 2015 the company continues to be successful, reporting record-breaking results for their Q1 earnings—$24.9 million net profit (a 2477% increase from the previous year). Com2uS recently opened an office in Taiwan to capture the growing market, and is aggressively marketing its games in Asia. Com2uS is likely to climb the list of most profitable mobile game companies in the years to come.
[singlepic id=36373 w=428 h=240 float=none]
Mixi
Known For: Monster Strike
Mixi Projected 2015 Revenue: ~$1.5 billion
While Monster Strike didn’t release until late 2014 it’s proven itself a formidable contender in the mobile games market. And it may become Japan’s second billion dollar mobile game, if it hasn’t already. In Q1 2015 Mixi’s Monster Strike earned $4.2 million every day. Projecting into the future means that at the end of the year Monster Strike may earn $1.5 billion, and only $21.7 million was spent on advertising. It’s the single biggest mobile gaming hit since Puzzle and Dragons. While most game downloads are isolated to Japan Mixi has increased their presence in the North American market.
[singlepic id=36371 w=428 h=240 float=none]
Known For: Hearthstone
Blizzard Entertainment Projected 2015 Revenue: ~$5.0 billion
While Hearthstone isn’t exclusive to mobile, the amount of money it’s able to generate has to be noted. According to Superdata Hearthstone mobile is bringing in more money than its PC counterpart. It earns more than $20 million a month, dominating the CCG genre according to another SuperData Research report. And Heathstone’s revenue skyrocketed 31% when it became available on smartphones. It may easily rise to become a billion dollar mobile game. Not that Blizzard relies on Hearthstone to reap huge profits. Activision-Blizzard's first quarter earnings for 2015 were $1.28 billion, but that includes the entire Activision-Blizzard library. But there's no doubt Hearthstone will take up an increasing percentage of their total earnings in the years to come.
From Mega Man II to Ape Escape, I've been playing games for as long as I can remember. I've spent months killing porings in Ragnarok Online and more recently lived a second life in Eve Online. I usually play as gUMBY, gUMBLEoni, or gUMBLes in-game.
