Brawl Stars: Supercell’s Billion-Dollar Success Story

Source: YLE While game studios worldwide are laying off thousands, Supercell continues to thrive. Since its 2018 release, Brawl Stars has raked in over $2 billion out of 480M Downloads, making it one of the most successful mobile games ever. Data: AppMagic Something Cooler? Something even cooler? Helsinki HQ, Hey Spike! The Secret Behind *Brawl Stars' *Success At Supercell’s Helsinki headquarters, the Brawl Stars team operates like a well-oiled machine. The workspace is filled with game memorabilia, plush toys, and even South Korean cereal boxes featuring Brawl Stars characters—an indication of the game’s global reach. Frank Keienburg, the game’s team leader, attributes their success to continuous innovation. “We update the game every two months, keeping content fresh and players engaged,” he explains. The team, which started with 19 members, now has 64 developers from around the world, proving that diversity […]

Ömer Yakabagi February 27

Highlights

AppLovin Scandal: New Target of Short Sellers?

Are the reports Overblown or Misleading? Maybe, here are the details for you. AppLovin's CEO, Adam Foroughi, dismissed short-seller reports from Fuzzy Panda & Culper Research as “false and misleading,” accusing them of driving down the company’s stock for financial gain. Inflating metrics and tracking users, including children, without consent? Auction Manipulation & Data Exploitation Click Fraud & UX Dark Patterns Targeting Minors & Illegal Tracking Foroughi refuted the claims, stating they contain inaccuracies and insisting the company does not track children’s data or engage in financial misconduct. He emphasized AppLovin’s focus on strategy, cash flow, and share buybacks. Short-sellers profit from declining stock prices, as seen in a recent case involving Roblox. Following their release, AppLovin’s shares dropped by up to 20%. Both Fuzzy Panda and Culper are short AppLovin stock, which means that they have essentially bet the […]

Ömer Yakabagi February 27

Highlights

Playtika Sets Sights on $450M in M&A, Skipping AppLovin Bid

Source: PocketGamer Mobile gaming giant Playtika is gearing up for a major acquisition spree, earmarking $300 million to $450 million for "bolt-on" M&A over the next three years. That’s straight from President and CFO Craig Abrahams during the company’s latest Q4 and 2024 investor call. The move follows Playtika’s $1.95 billion takeover of Dice Dreams and Domino Dreams developer SuperPlay last November. While speculation had swirled about Playtika making a play for AppLovin’s $900M games portfolio, this budget suggests that’s off the table. D2C Growth, But a Mixed PicturePlaytika’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) revenue climbed 8.6% Y/Y to $694M in 2024, continuing its push toward first-party distribution. In Q4, D2C revenue hit $174.6M—up 8% Y/Y, but barely nudging quarter-over-quarter growth at 0.1%. However, D2C’s share of total revenue slipped to 26.8% in Q4 (down from 28.1% in Q3), which Playtika attributed to […]

Gamigion February 27

Journal

Contracts, legal considerations, and statements of work

💰 Revenue ShareRevenue share determines how profits (net revenue of UA) are split between the developer and publisher, typically based on:🔹 Risk & Investment – More funding = lower revenue share for the developer.🔹 Market Potential – Projected higher-performing games get better splits.🔹 Long Term Relations - Normally if the studio is tried and tested with the publisher they get better splits.🏢 Studio Burn CoverageBurn coverage determines if the publisher funds the studio’s operational costs or not, this could also be done on the title/project level:🔹 Full Coverage – Publisher covers all costs but takes a bigger revenue cut.🔹 Partial Coverage – Some funding, but better long-term revenue for the studio.🔹 No Coverage – Developer self-funds but keeps more revenue.If milestones (statement of works) aren’t met, funding may be delayed or cut off.📊 Commercial TermsBeyond revenue share and burn, contracts […]

John Wright February 27

Journal

20 Key Mobile Game Metrics

20 Key Mobile Game Metrics 𝟭. 𝗗𝗔𝗨 (𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀) • Unique users active daily • Indicates daily engagement • Improve with limited-time events & push notifications 𝟮. 𝗠𝗔𝗨 (𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀) • Shows long-term retention • Boost with progression rewards & fresh content 𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲 • % of users returning after a set period • Key metric for player stickiness • Improve onboarding & mid-term goals 𝟰. 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲 • % of users who stop playing • Reflects player drop-off points • Fix pain points in user flow 𝟱. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 • Total time spent in-game daily • Add timed actions & missions to increase 𝟲. 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 • Avg. duration of a game session • Indicates depth of engagement • Use multi-step goals & time-limited bonuses 𝟳. 𝗔𝘃𝗴. 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 • Shows interaction with core gameplay […]

Anton Slashcev February 27

Journal

Claude AI is playing Pokemon on Twitch

Claude, the AI, is taking on Pokémon Red—and it's struggling. Hours into its Twitch stream, the model found itself blocked by a simple rock wall. No matter how hard it tried, walking through solid stone wasn’t an option. The Twitch chat had a field day: “Who would win? A computer AI with thousands of hours of programming, or one rock wall?” Eventually, Claude figured out it could just go around. Watching Claude play is both maddening and mesmerizing. It moves at a Slowpoke’s pace, deliberating every step with excruciating caution. Onscreen, its left side displays an intricate breakdown of its reasoning, while the right shows the game in real-time—turning simple actions into a saga of decision-making. At one point, Claude attempted to find Professor Oak in his lab but got confused by other NPCs in the room. Spotting a character […]

Ömer Yakabagi February 27

Journal

How Do Publishers Decide Which Games to Sign?

The greenlight process is the final stage of due diligence, where the publishing team comes together to review all aspects of a game and decide whether to sign it. While each publisher has its own approach, the ultimate goal is the same:➡️ Do we believe in this game enough to invest in it?Here’s how the decision-making unfolds:🎯 Stage 1: The Cross-Team ReviewThe publishing team evaluates all major areas of the game, typically led by designated owners for each function:🔹 Product & Design – Is the gameplay engaging? Does it meet genre benchmarks?🔹 Production – Can the studio execute on time and at scale?🔹 Marketing – Are CPI, CTR, IPM and retention strong enough to support profitable UA? Do we have monetisation metrics already?🔹 Commercial Viability – Can it scale profitably? How much will we need to invest to get it […]

John Wright February 26

Journal

RIP Space Ape Games: 70 join Supercell London, and 30 laid off

As reported by MobileGamer, Space Ape Games is no more. Following Supercell’s full acquisition in November 2024, the studio’s fate has now taken shape: 70 staff join Supercell London, 30 are laid off, and the rest take their projects to new homes. Supercell confirmed that “around 70” former Space Ape employees will be part of Supercell London, marking a major expansion of the Finnish giant’s UK presence. Meanwhile, Chrome Valley Customs and Fastlane are moving to Offroad Games, a new startup led by ex-Space Ape GM Geoffrey Gilles, bringing along 10-12 team members. Transformers: Earth Wars shifts to Chinese publisher Yodo1, which will now handle the game globally, taking 10 Space Ape employees with it. Unfortunately, around 30 staff were left without roles, though Supercell reportedly worked to minimize layoffs and support transitions. Some declined offers at Supercell or the […]

Gamigion February 26

Journal

Game Development Renaissance: LiveOps & Forever Games

For many game developers, 2025 looks set to be the dawn of a new creative and technological era. The industry is in the midst of a transformation in which the best games aren’t necessarily the newest, but rather the smartest in how they evolve and endure. That's the view of industry veteran John Wright, who believes we're no longer talking about short-lived hits, but ‘forever games’ - titles that thrive for a decade or more. Read on to learn why John reckons the studios that master live operations, embrace smart monetization, and leverage external tools will be the ones defining the industry’s next golden age. Why Live Service Games will be the Backbone of 2025’s Top Games “The biggest successes in 2024 didn’t come from new games,” John tells us. “They came from live ops.” The data backs this up. […]

John Wright February 26

Highlights

Mobile Gaming Today: 48

Hallo Fam, Crazy how Hamburg is enjoying amazing weather this week while Istanbul is buried under snow! ☃️ Guess I should study Geography to make sense of it... or maybe it's just global warming doing its thing, huh? Game of the Week 🍭 Candy Crush Solitaire by King Having its global launch on Feb 6th, looking at the numbers the game did just $260K on 3M+ downloads. Doesn't seem like the result King was looking for. Why? 🤔 Compared to competitors, and there are many, there is one major change in core gameplay, where players can store 1 extra card as another "connecting" card, instead of just linear connecting all the cards on the board. This gives them much more tactical gameplay ⚔️, where they can save this card for later when they run out of their current chain to […]

Ömer Yakabagi February 25

Highlights

Next-Gen Puzzle Games: Seven Stars Secures Seed Funding

Backed by Spintop Ventures, Behold Ventures, and Sisu Game Ventures, the studio aims to push mobile gaming boundaries. Seven Stars, a Helsinki-based mobile gaming startup, has secured seed funding to craft the "next generation of puzzle games." Helmed by ex-Tridify CEO Alex Le Bell, the leadership team includes Olli Aurola (former Lute Group executive) as CTO and Markus Tuppurainen (ex-SciPlay creative director) in the same role at Seven Stars. Their roster boasts industry veterans from Rovio, Moon Active, Seriously, Next Games, and Small Giant Games—a powerhouse lineup ready to shake up the genre. The investment round, co-led by Spintop Ventures and Behold Ventures, saw additional backing from Sisu Game Ventures, Failup Ventures, and notable angel investors, including Timo Soininen, former CEO and co-founder of Small Giant Games. The startup also secured EU funding to fuel its R&D efforts. Blending Creativity […]

Gamigion February 25

Highlights

$3.5B Move for Pokemon GO? Scopely on Niantic’s Gaming Division

Written by our partner InvestGame According to Bloomberg, US-based AR gaming company Niantic, Inc. plans to sell its gaming business, including its flagship title, Pokémon GO. The game development division could be acquired by US-based mobile gaming company Scopely for $3.5B. This deal would significantly shift the AR and location-based gaming market if true. ABOUT NIANTIC Niantic was established as an internal startup at Google in 2010 by John Hanke (previously CEO of Keyhole, which was acquired by Google and became the foundation of Google Earth). In 2015, it spun out as an independent company with backing from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Nintendo (TYO: 7974), and The Pokémon Company. Today, the company employs almost 1,000 people, with main offices in the US, Japan, and the UK. Since 2015, Niantic has raised over $765m across four funding rounds: in Oct’15, the company […]

Gamigion February 25

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