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2020
2020
in association with
The mobile
movers
& shakers
of the last
12 months
Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 1
2020
Contents a-z
2020
Welcome…
Our Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list is now in its 11th year,
2020
in association with
From breaking industry stories and and what a year it’s been already. p27 p6 p21 p15 p10
in-depth interviews with key
executives to updates on industry 2020 will be remembered for a lot of things, but in the
events and detailed analysis of mobile mobile games industry it will likely be remembered for the
games metrics, PocketGamer.biz is the continued growth of hypercasual as a genre, some
first port of call for mobile game
impressively large acquisitions, and a string of battles waged
developers, publishers, operators,
handset manufacturers, investors, and across and about the app stores. p4 p19 p19 p14 p5 p14 p25
service providers. We’ve seen Apple Arcade offer a new avenue for premium
mobile developers, while free-to-play revenues have surged
www.pocketgamer.biz
thanks to people spending more time at home. And we’ve
seen streaming services start kicking into high gear, with
p6 p13 p15 p9 p7 p4 p7
Stadia and xCloud battling it out on smaller screens with
console titles.
It’s been tough picking out the developers we consider to be
“the best” amongst all the chaos of 2020. It’s been a difficult
year, and it isn’t getting any easier. Realistically, every
p11 p9 p10 p13 p12
Your top 50
company still hanging on deserves recognition of some kind. countdown
Still, we want to take the time to celebrate the best game begins here…
makers in the industry, and so once again consider our Top 50.
Ric Cowley | Editor
Kayleigh Partleton | Writer There’s a lot to take into account – revenues, quality of games
Matthew Forde | Writer – but perhaps the most important metric for this year’s edition p11 p22 p22 p5 p34
Joao Diniz Sanches | Production is potential.
Paul Summers-Edwards | Senior Designer
We want to commemorate the developers making the big
Jez Bridgeman | Creative Director moves in the market, the ones who are investing heavily in
their future and have exciting prospects on the horizon.
©2020 Steel Media Ltd Maybe that’s an upcoming game currently in soft launch, or p23 p20 p32 p20 p24 p25 p26
This publication and its contents are the perhaps it’s an intriguing acquisition that set tongues wagging
copyright of Steel Media Ltd and may not be
distributed, copied or reproduced without at the time. Whatever the case, bold actions and impressive
permission. growth has been the key to success in this year’s Top 50.
p24 p30 p12 p31 p29 p18 p21
www.pocketgamer.biz
All statistics in this publication are for informational
purposes only and are correct at time of going to press to Ric Cowley
the best of our knowledge. Steel Media can accept no
responsibility for inaccuracies that occur but where Editor – PocketGamer.biz p28 p17 p18 p33 p17 p23 p35
mistakes are discovered we will correct any oversight.
2 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 3
50 48
2020 2020
www.capybaragames.com www.ndemiccreations.com
Capybara Games Ndemic
Capybara Games may have only released Plague Inc. is a staple of the premium
one notable mobile game in the last 12 mobile market, but its importance has
months, but it’s fair to say that the arrival surged due to rather obvious reasons: a
EN TRY! of Grindstone has made a significant pandemic on the same scale as depicted
P NEW
impact across the industry. in the game.
A launch title for Apple’s Arcade service, Now eight years old, the game’s success
Grindstone quickly became the defining enabled indie studio Ndemic to donate
game of the collection – an experience you $250,000 to coronavirus relief charities, and
can only get on mobile, perfectly suited for add an anti-virus mode slightly more
the platform, and with an assured long life befitting the current climate.
ahead of it thanks to the addition of new Ndemic isn’t just a one-trick-pony,
levels and mechanics. however, and its other title Rebel Inc. is also
Capybara doesn’t work much on mobile greatly benefitting from its predecessor’s Softography
anymore, but with the success of Grindstone, success, with a hefty single-player
Softography that may change in the future. campaign due to be added in the future. Plague Inc.
Grindstone Rebel Inc.
49 47
huuugegames.com www.eastsidegames.com
Huuuge Games East Side Games
Huuuge is perhaps best known as a social Carving out a niche in the crowded
casino studio, but the last year has seen it mobile market is a pretty smart move,
make a few big pushes into the more and it certainly seems to be paying off for
TRY!
narrative-led idle game developer East
TRY!
traditional mobile games, too.
N EN
E P NEW
Side Games.
P NEW Not only did it pick up the Trolls licence
for a casual bubble shooter, it also published It’s clearly caught the eye of TV execs,
Matchland and Transport It Tycoon, further with the studio launching a game based on
diversifying its portfolio. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and
Softography
securing The Goldbergs IP for another title.
On top of all that, Huuuge acquired Bow
Land developer Double Star and interactive
It’s Always Sunny: East Side is also looking to grow the idle
ads firm Playable Platform as part of its Softography The Gang Goes game market with its IdleKit SDK, which
Mobile was used in Dragon Up: Idle Adventure from
“Build and Buy” strategy, which will no Bow Land
doubt see further M&A activity from the Trailer Park Boys: Night Garden Studio, and likely in more
studio in the months to come. DreamWorks Trolls Greasy Money games to come.
Pop
The Goldbergs: Back
Matchland to the 80s
4 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 5
46 44
2020 2020
www.annapurnainteractive.com www.hutch.io
Annapurna Interactive Hutch Games
While a relative newcomer to the gaming London-based Hutch Games has proven
scene, Annapurna Interactive has itself to be a master of racing titles, both
cemented itself as one of the most with its original IP and a particularly big
EN TRY! interesting and exciting mobile licence now in its catalogue.
P NEW
publishers around. F1 Manager continues to race ahead, with
Simogo’s Sayonara Wild Hearts is the a huge new update in 2020 to bring the
jewel in its crown, but it’s important not to game in line with the current race season,
discount the rest of Annapurna’s catalogue, adding new series and car components for a
which in the last 12 months included Telling convincing and exciting refresh.
Lies, If Found…, and a mobile port of Journey. And it’s secured top brands for its original
While these titles may be multiplatform, titles, such as card-collector Top Drives and
Softography Annapurna recognises mobile as a arcade racer Rebel Racing. We look forward Softography
Sayonara Wild Hearts legitimate space for its less conventional to seeing what other spins on the racing F1 Manager
games, and upcoming releases like The genre Hutch conjures up.
Telling Lies Artful Escape and The Pathless are sure to Rebel Racing
bring more intriguing premium experiences
If Found… to the platform.
Top Drives
45 43
www.frogmind.com www.jagex.com
Frogmind Jagex
Jagex could be accused of simply ticking
Frogmind has clearly hit on a winning along with RuneScape and Old School
formula with its Rumble series – how else RuneScape, though its sale to Macarthur
N TRY!
can you explain its launch of Rumble
EN TRY! Fortune Holding for $530 million is a sure
P NEW
E P NEW
Hockey so soon after Rumble Stars Soccer? sign of the faith people have in the studio.
While both games follow a similar format, Indeed, Jagex posted annual revenues of
Rumble Hockey caught our eye with its $137.6 million for 2019, the first time in its
influencer program, offering a 100% revenue history that it has cleared the $100 million
share from IAPs purchased by players the mark, thanks to an uptick in subscriptions
influencers brought into the game. across both its games on mobile and PC.
It’s an interesting proposal, and no doubt Not bad for a series which is fast
helped push the title to clear 1 million approaching its 20th anniversary and is still
Softography
downloads in a month – something it is Softography finding its feet on the smaller screen.
surely looking to replicate with its next RuneScape But Jagex is also looking forward: the
release, presumably featuring the same Rumble Hockey
Old School recently announced deal to bring Flying
influencer incentive. Rumble Stars Soccer Wild Hog’s next game to market signals its
RuneScape
move into third-party publishing.
6 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 7
42
2020 2020
www.kwalee.com
Kwalee
It’s been a tough year for every developer,
but Kwalee has taken the shift to remote
working in its stride.
Not only has it launched two new
hypercasual games developed while the
UK was in lockdown, but it’s also expanded
into India with a new studio and partnered
with Buildbox to potentially publish games
www.pocketgamer.biz www.blockchaingamer.biz made in the no-code development platform.
With Kwalee now opening more of its
roles to remote workers on a permanent
Softography
basis, the studio looks primed to grow its
development capabilities and expand its
Bake It catalogue of hypercasual titles no matter
what the future holds.
Line Up: Draw the
Criminal
41
www.gunghoonline.com
GungHo Interactive
www.pcgamesinsider.biz www.influencerupdate.biz Think of GungHo on mobile and you’ll
probably think of one game in particular:
the ever-popular Puzzle & Dragons.
Despite never quite breaking the western
E G A ME S INDUS T RY market, P&D has now cleared 54 million
IT H TH
downloads in Japan eight years after first
CONNEC TIN G YO U W launching, and has recently added a
subscription pass which is sure to appeal to
existing spenders.
GungHo has other games, of course –
mobile card-battle Teppen and Switch
shooter Ninjala have seen strong starts – but
Softography
there’s no doubting Puzzle & Dragons will
continue to be the company’s top performer, Puzzle & Dragons
even as it approaches its tenth birthday.
Teppen
MOBILE • BLOCKCHAIN • PC • INFLUENCERS • XR
8 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 9
40 38
2020 2020
www.capcom.com www.mixi.co.jp
Capcom Mixi
Capcom may not have a huge mobile Monster Strike is another one of those
presence, but it’s been making some games that never found an audience
interesting moves of late that have put it outside of Japan, but its home country
EN TRY! back on our radar. fans are big, big spenders.
P NEW Not only has it returned to the casual The almost seven-year-old game has
market with Snoopy Puzzle Journey, it also seen MAUs fall pretty consistently year-on-
continues to pursue a core audience in year, but it continues to pull in huge
Japan, with recently launched Monster revenues and remains the main focus of
Hunter Riders clearing 5 million downloads Softography Mixi’s mobile gaming business strategy.
within two months of release. That Monster Strike alone contributed the
But most exciting is China-only release
Monster Hunter bulk of Mixi’s $1.06 billion annual revenue
Riders
Devil May Cry: Pinnacle of Combat, the first for 2019 is staggering – even if it is a yearly
mobile game to use the DmC licence and, Devil May Cry: decline. But with everyone stuck in their
based on what has been shown so far, one Pinnacle of Combat homes for plenty of 2020, that figure is sure
with some serious potential. Softography to again rise higher this year.
Snoopy Puzzle
Journey Monster Strike
39 37
www.lego.com www.jamcity.com
Lego Jam City
Recent months have seen Lego fully
embrace the world of gaming – and not We’re still waiting for Jam City’s much-
just because of its partnership with anticipated IPO, but its business
TRY! Nintendo on the impressive new Super continues to thrive thanks to existing
EN
P NEW Mario sets. titles and newer releases.
Instead, it’s the launch of Light Brick The last year saw Disney Emoji Blitz and
Studios, a development team working on Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery reportedly
experimental mobile games, which has clear $100 million and $154 million in
drawn attention in the mobile space revenues, respectively, while the studio also
thanks to its beautiful, heartwarming Lego launched a new game with a major IP in the
Builder’s Journey release. form of Frozen Adventures. Softography
Softography
The group hasn’t shied away from No doubt Jam City will continue to
support its existing licensed titles for years
Disney Emoji Blitz
Lego Builder’s traditional titles, with a Gameloft
Journey partnership resulting in Lego Legacy: to come, and perhaps one day its dream of Harry Potter:
Heroes Unboxed, but we’re excited to see an IPO will come true. Hogwarts Mystery
Lego Legacy: Heroes which direction Light Brick takes next – if
Unboxed Frozen Adventures
it remains part of the company’s strategy.
10 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 11
36 34
2020 2020
miniclip.com www.gameloft.com
Miniclip Gameloft
Miniclip has had a relatively quiet year, Gameloft has had its ups and downs over
insofar as it hasn’t shouted about any big recent years, but any company
games lately, but it has made some pretty celebrating its 20th anniversary will
ENTRY! interesting acquisitions in recent months.
EN TRY! inevitably have experienced its fair share
P NEW It was reported (but never confirmed)
P NEW
of turbulence along the way.
that the company acquired Israeli And it’s a developer which obviously still
developer Ilyon Games for $100 million – holds weight in the industry, securing
a perfect fit for the firm’s portfolio of casual licences from Lego and Disney for
games. And it officially bought Eight Pixels numerous games, and maintaining an
Softography
Square, adding a selection of midcore titles average of 1.6 million downloads every
to its catalogue. Asphalt 8: Airborne single day.
Only time will tell how recently- With Minions Rush nudging ever closer to
appointed CEO Jurgen Post plans to expand Asphalt 9: Legends
Softography 1 billion downloads and racing stalwarts
Miniclip further and which studios will join Minions Rush Asphalt 8: Airborne and Asphalt 9: Legends
the family down the line. 8-Ball Pool continuing to draw in revenues, Gameloft’s
Lego Legacy: Heroes road to its 21st birthday looks smooth.
Agar.io Unboxed
35 33
www.rovio.com www.lockwoodpublishing.com
Rovio Lockwood Publishing
The Angry Birds franchise is now over a
2020 saw Lockwood’s mobile virtual
decade old, and while the IP may have
world/MMO Avakin Life surpass 200
lost a little altitude in recent years, Rovio
million registered users – not bad for a
has shown signs that it’s planning to
game now heading into its seventh year
bounce back very soon.
of operation.
It started 2020 with a raft of soft-launches
It’s also drawing in 1.4 million daily active
across multiple genres, trialling games with
users, no doubt thanks to the developer’s
and without the Angry Birds IP, and
focus on running in-game events and
eventually acquiring midcore developer
partnering with musical acts to host gigs in
Darkfire Games and rebranding it Rovio
the Avakin world.
Softography Copenhagen.
Lockwood has further capitalised on the
Angry Birds 2 Additionally, a new Angry Birds Netflix
title’s reach to go beyond games, bringing
series on the way – and the launch of new IP
TV show World of Dance into Avakin Life for
Angry Birds Dream Small Town Murders – all point to a re-
a month-long competition. It’ll be interesting
Blast energised Rovio. Softography
to see what other partnerships the
Small Town Murders developer has lined up. Avakin Life
12 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 13
32 30
2020 2020
www.dena.com/intl en.bandainamcoent.eu
DeNA Bandai Namco
DeNA may be best known to western It’s no surprise that Bandai Namco’s main
audiences for its ongoing partnership successes in mobile come from its anime
with Nintendo on its mobile portfolio, yet titles, especially given its involvement in
it remains a strong mobile developer in some of the biggest franchises available.
its own right. From One Piece to Dragon Ball, the
Its latest notable release is Slam Dunk, a Japanese developer/publisher continues to
3v3 anime basketball game developed in see great sales from its existing titles
partnership with Toei Animation, which has – Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, for example, is
been an unexpected success in China and estimated to have cleared $2 billion in
is now spreading across Asia with similarly lifetime revenues as of November 2019.
strong sales. Softography It’s also shown interesting moves outside
Couple that with an upcoming Dragon its own franchises, including working on
Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Nintendo’s Mario Kart Tour. Could a deeper
Quest title, as well as whatever DeNA is Softography Battle
secretly working on with Nintendo at the partnership be coming down the line? Time
moment, and there are definitely exciting Slam Dunk Dragon Ball Legends will tell.
times ahead for the developer.
Pokémon Masters Tales of Crestoria
31 29
www.ea.com www.glu.com
Electronic Arts Glu Mobile
EA continues to make significant
revenues from long-running mobile It has been a good few months for Glu
games like Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes Mobile as the company has finally
and FIFA Mobile, but new releases are returned to profitability.
often few and far between. Glu’s 2019 financials show an overall
However, recent months have seen the upwards trend to its bottom line, largely
soft-launch of Plants vs. Zombies 3, a new thanks to Design Home, Covet Fashion, and
entry in the evergreen franchise, along with the MLB Tap Sports Baseball franchise,
Softography
promises of a few more mobile soft- which has now cleared over 40 million
launches to come. downloads since its first entry. Design Home
Softography One such soft-launch is supposedly the Oddly enough, the developer has also
seen a huge boost to the six-year-old Kim
MLB Tap Sports
Star Wars: Galaxy of mobile edition of Apex Legends, which is a
Baseball
Heroes hugely tantalising prospect – if it can Kardashian: Hollywood, which experienced
successfully translate the console a 320 per cent growth in bookings in Q2 Covet Fashion
FIFA Mobile experience onto a smaller screen, EA will be 2020. Capitalising even on its older,
strafing all the way to the bank. somewhat forgotten titles suggests Glu’s Kim Kardashian:
Plants vs. Zombies 3 approach is working.
Hollywood
14 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 15
W
IT
IN EA
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MEET THE NEXT GENERATION
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28
S
SO N S
2020 2020
CI PO
AT N
www.sybogames.com
OF TOP 50 DEVELOPERS…
IO SO
N R
SYBO Games
S
There’s no outrunning the success wave
of 2012’s Subway Surfers, a title which has
now surpassed 3 billion downloads,
TRY!
accruing 500 million between May 2019
EN
P NEW
and August 2020.
And SYBO Games has capitalised on this
success by branching out into merchandise,
teaming up with Walmart, Hot Topic, and
Redbubble for lines of apparel and
accessories based on the series.
Co-developed with Kiloo and considered
to be the most downloaded game of the last
decade by App Annie, Subway Surfers has
yet to show signs of slowing down.
Softography
Subway Surfers
27
Celebrating the best indie game develope www.tiltingpoint.com
rs, Tilting Point
connecting with publishers & press ONLINE! Free-to-play specialist Tilting Point has
had a busy 12 months, from acquisitions
and big IP launches to strategic
EN TRY! partnerships aimed at bringing its games
P NEW to the MENA region.
Let’s start with the acquisitions: the firm
acquired mobile RPG Star Trek Timelines
from original developer Disruptor Beam, as
well as the assets of FTX Games, the San
Diego-based studio known for publishing
Narcos: Cartel Wars.
Softography
On top of this, Tilting Point partnered
with Nickelodeon to launch SpongeBob:
Star Trek Timelines Krusty Cook-Off, which went on to achieve
an impressive 14 million pre-registrations.
For details of all upcoming events and pitching dates, visit SpongeBob: Krusty
Cook-Off
16
www.bigindiepitch.com Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 17
26 24
2020 2020
www.sony.com www.com2us.com
Sony Com2uS
In the mobile space, Sony remains Summoners War may not enjoy the same
something of a mystery. Not only does it level of hype as other mobile games, but it
never seem to mention its moderately remains a strong performer for Com2uS.
successful mobile studio ForwardWorks,
The RPG recently surpassed $2 billion in
but it also groups its anime mobile titles
lifetime revenues from a total of 116 million
under its Music label.
downloads. The studio’s work on pushing
But for all its odd approach, the firm the game into the esports arena will surely
nevertheless continues to have a strong only help boost those numbers.
foothold in the market, largely due to the
We’re also starting to see the first signs of
ongoing success of Fate/Grand Order around
life from Com2uS’s deal with Skybound
the world.
Entertainment, with the developer now
The five-year-old game is still holding working on a new Walking Dead game while
Softography
strong, but attention should now turn to the the entertainment firm puts the finishing
Fate/Grand Order Japan-only Disney Twisted-Wonderland, an touches to a Summoners War comic book.
RPG/visual novel with a focus on Disney’s Softography
Disney Twisted- villains that’s currently picking up steam.
Wonderland Summoners War
25 23
www.take2games.com www.cyberagent.co.jp
Take-Two Interactive CyberAgent
CyberAgent is another studio that is
Take-Two’s focus may be its massive little-known outside of Asia, but is seeing
console franchises, but that doesn’t mean fantastic revenues regardless.
TRY!
its mobile output is being ignored. Its money largely comes from card-
EN
P NEW The company’s acquisition of Spanish
mobile developer Social Point has been the
battler Shadowverse and RPG Granblue
Fantasy, but don’t discount more niche titles
key driver on its mobile front, with games like BanG Dream! Girls Band Party and
like Tasty Town and World Chef leading the Princess Connect! Re:Dive, the latter of which
charge alongside long-time hit Dragon City. recently launched in China.
Softography
And then there’s 2K’s mobile offerings, CyberAgent has a pretty impressive
Softography
including WWE SuperCard, which continues Shadowverse future lineup too, including the much-
to perform well for the company. WWE SuperCard anticipated NieR Re[in]carnation and a
Not to mention the fact the US publisher
Granblue Fantasy Switch version of Shadowverse. And it
has 21 games “planned specifically” for
Dragon City
Princess Connect! continues to operate Dragalia Lost in
mobile over the next five fiscal years, Tasty Town Re:Dive partnership with Nintendo, the latter’s first
reaffirming its commitment to the market. and only original mobile IP.
World Chef NieR Re[in]carnation
18 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 1922 20
2020 2020
www.nintendo.com www.applovin.com
Nintendo Applovin
Nintendo’s mobile efforts were called into While predominantly a mobile marketing
question this year, following a bad start company, AppLovin’s internal game
for Dr. Mario World and a lack of output has become rather impressive
announcements for future titles.
EN TRY! over the last 12 months.
But it still found its successes. Animal P NEW Its hypercasual outfit Lion Studios has
Crossing: Pocket Camp saw a huge boost in seen games like Slap Kings and Save the Girl
sales thanks to the release of New Horizons top monthly download charts with close to
on Switch, while Mario Kart Tour got off to 100 million installs between them, proving
an excellent start and is fast becoming a key it has the capability to produce serious hits.
title in the firm’s mobile portfolio. Meanwhile, AppLovin’s acquisition of Softography
Softography With its mobile division passing $1 billion Game of War developer Machine Zone
in lifetime revenues, one key question now represents a step towards the opposite end Slap Kings
Fire Emblem Heroes
is which of Nintendo’s many beloved IPs of the mobile gaming spectrum, into a far Save the Girl
Mario Kart Tour will see its own mobile outing next. more hardcore territory. It’ll be interesting to
see what AppLovin has planned for this Game of War
Animal Crossing: former titan of the mobile market.
Pocket Camp Mobile Strike
21 19
www.nexon.com www.stillfront.com
Nexon Stillfront Group
Acquisitions have proven to be very
Nexon didn’t have the best start in 2020, successful for the Stillfront Group. This
with revenues falling slightly year-on- year alone it picked up Candywriter and
TRY!
year, but it bounced back remarkably
TRY!
Storm8, in addition to the deal it struck
N EN
E P NEW
with a record-breaking Q2.
P NEW
with Kixeye in late 2019.
Its mobile library has performed well All three of those studios have aided
over the past year, with MapleStory M Stillfront to secure an impressive year, with
showing good growth, recently hitting 16 games like Property Brothers Home Design,
million downloads. Another top performer BitLife, and War Commander: Rogue Assault
is KartRider Rush+, which saw 10 million Softography all proving their worth in recent months.
downloads in two weeks.
With an evidently strong stable of
Nexon also picked up FIFA Mobile for its Softography BitLife
developers, including Big Farm: Mobile
domestic market, which scored 1.2 million Property Brothers Harvest studio Goodgame, the question on
MapleStory M
downloads within a day of launch. And all Home Design most lips when it comes to Stillfront is, ‘who
eyes are now on South Korea success V4, KartRider Rush+ will it buy next?’
which just launched worldwide. Big Farm: Mobile
V4 Harvest
20 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 2118 16
2020 2020
www.moonactive.com www.voodoo.io
Moon Active Voodoo
Give Moon Active’s Coin Master a spin for It’s impossible to talk about hypercasual
a few days, and it’s not hard to see why gaming and not mention Voodoo at some
the game remains so engaging for players point. Even in 2020, with so many
after four years on the market. developers getting in on the genre, it
The title is now estimated to have remains at the top of its game as a
cleared $500 million in lifetime revenue developer and publisher.
and makes regular appearances in monthly The studio now boasts over 3.7 billion
top-grossing charts, so expect it to become downloads and 300 million MAUs, thanks
another mobile gaming unicorn before long. to a staggering catalogue of games too
As a social casino game, it’s currently numerous to mention separately here.
toeing a fine line in many government’s Furthermore, it appears to be making
eyes, but the winds are steering in its favour moves to evolve hypercasual as a genre, Softography
following Germany’s decision not to ban the thanks to a new studio established in Draw Climber
game in its country. Montreal and the acquisition of London-
Softography based developer Gumbug. Woodturning
Coin Master Spiral Roll
17 15
www.n3twork.com www.netmarble.com
N3twork Netmarble
Netmarble struck gold earlier this year
Back in November last year, N3twork when it launched adventure RPG Seven
began making moves by announcing that Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, which hit
it had raised $40 million in investment 3 million downloads within ten days of
for games, its Scale Platform, and its release back in March 2020.
community-facing fan app. But it has plenty of other strong games in
Nearly a year on and the San Francisco- its arsenal. The King of Fighters Allstar
based startup has put these funds to good continues to perform well, having pulled in
use, releasing an official Tetris game and multiple collaborations, while long-running
securing the rights to NBCUniversal’s Softography titles such as Marvel: Contest of Champions
puzzler Funko Pop Blitz, all while increasing and Lineage2 Revolution haven’t stopped
its UA performance by 25 per cent. Seven Deadly Sins: their contribution of large sums of revenue.
Grand Cross
More interestingly, N3twork launched its Softography With a second game featuring K-pop
$50 million publishing fund for its scale Marvel: Contest of icons BTS and a new Kabam-developed
platform, securing partnerships with Tetris Champions Marvel title currently in development, the
Grand Cru, 99Games, and others to help path is trending upwards for Netmarble.
Funko Pop Blitz Lineage2 Revolution
grow their games.
22 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 2314 12
2020 2020
www.outfit7.com www.pearlabyss.com
Outfit7 Pearl Abyss
One of the most common ways of South Korea-based studio Pearl Abyss
succeeding in the mobile games market is has made a splash into the mobile market
to establish a solid IP and run with it. this year by bringing its highly beloved
ENTRY! That’s exactly what developer Outfit7 has
EN TRY! Black Desert Online game to mobile
P NEW achieved with its Talking Tom franchise.
P NEW
devices in the west.
Launched in June 2020, latest game My The MMORPG has gone on to become a
Talking Tom Friends exceeded 100 million huge success, accumulating more than 20
downloads in just over a month, adding to million downloads within its first two
an already impressive 13 billion downloads months on the mobile platform and helping
across the company’s catalogue. push revenue for the series as a whole past
It will be fascinating to see how Outfit7 the $1.5 billion mark.
plans to not only keep the existing audience Pearl Abyss is now set to enter its final
Softography
happy, but draw in new players further expansion phase for Black Desert before
My Talking Tom down the line, too. looking to launch its next title in the last
Friends quarter of 2021. Softography
My Talking Tom Black Desert Mobile
13 11
www.playtika.com www.epicgames.com
Playtika Epic Games
There’s a debate to be had around
Playtika has certainly had an interesting
whether Epic Games counts as a mobile
year, with subsidiaries Wooga and
developer – especially now that Fortnite is
Seriously continuing to perform well
no longer available on the App Store or
through their June’s Journey and the Best
Google Play.
Fiends franchise, which cleared $285
million in lifetime revenues in late 2019. But there’s no denying the company’s
presence on the market, particularly given
Playtika has also been engaging in a
that Fortnite recently cleared $1 billion in
number of charitable acts through its
estimated mobile lifetime revenues just two
games, with Bingo Blitz donating meals to
years after its small screen debut.
Feeding America while the studio donated
its own catered meals to local communities Epic’s future on mobile is in turmoil at
Softography
to help out during the pandemic. the time of writing, but if it does successfully
Wooga CEO and founder Jens Begemann
June’s Journey force Apple and Google to lower their
revenue cut from games and apps on their
may have left to pursue new ventures, but Best Fiends Softography stores, it’d be a hugely significant win for
Playtika looks to be perfectly safe hands to
Bingo Blitz Fortnite developers everywhere.
leave the developer in.
24 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 2510 9
2020 2020
www.playrix.com www.activisionblizzard.com
Playrix Activision Blizzard
Playrix has been a dominant force in the In previous Top 50 editions, we’ve
casual mobile gaming space for some targeted King as its own company, largely
time now, and the last 12 months has seen strafing past owner Activision Blizzard
it go from strength to strength, thanks to a due to the parent company’s focus on
string of acquisitions, impressive revenue console, leaving King to take point when
milestones for its evergreen titles, and it came to all mobile operations.
Softography interesting moves for the future. But since our 2019 list, Activision has
When we spoke to Alexander Derkach, unleashed a monumental assault on the
Gardenscapes
Playrix’s head of marketing, at the end of mobile landscape in the form of Call of Duty:
Homescapes 2019, the studio had made eight Mobile, effectively bringing the companies’
acquisitions, bringing its total headcount to mobile game might into step. Softography
1,700 people. And it didn’t stop in 2020, Call of Duty: Mobile has been nothing Candy Crush Saga
picking up Plexonic and Cateia Games short of a phenomenon, generating 100
within a few months of each other, million downloads in its first week – Call of Duty: Mobile
strengthening its presence across Europe as reportedly making it the fastest mobile
a result. Diablo Immortal
game to ever hit that figure – and growing
The studio’s games haven’t slacked off that figure to 250 million just eight months
either. Flagship title Gardenscapes surpassed after initially launching.
$1.5 billion in revenue just over three years Sensor Tower figures estimate that it’s
after launching, while its follow-up, also generated $327 million in lifetime
Homescapes, cleared $1 billion just after its spend, $60 million of which came from its
second birthday. launch month alone. And it swept up a
Future games are looking rather strong surprising number of industry awards to
as well. It’s already launched Wildscapes, a boot, nabbing a BAFTA, Google’s Game of
more traditional match-3 experience the Year, and a nod from the Game Awards,
combined with Playrix’s narrative-led among numerous other nominations.
metagame, and it has Farmscapes King hasn’t exactly been resting on its
currently in soft-launch, which follows in laurels either, of course. Largely thanks to
Gardenscapes’ footsteps a little more closely. the coronavirus pandemic, its revenues
But it’s also branching out of its comfort have grown to the highest they’ve been
zone with hidden object title Manor Matters since Activision Blizzard’s acquisition,
and match-3 RPG Puzzle Breakers, both with MAUs also climbing to 271 million.
exciting new avenues for the developer. All sights are now trained on two
With its top titles continuing to bring in mobile outings for major IPs, with
money, and new ventures starting to take Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal progressing
form, Playrix’s future feels very well through internal testing and King’s Crash
grounded. We look forward to seeing how Bandicoot: On the Run in soft-launch. And all
much more it can grow over the next year. the while, Call of Duty: Mobile forges ahead.
26 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 278 7
2020 2020
www.supercell.com www.seagroup.com
Supercell Sea
Supercell has been slipping and sliding It’s entirely possible that, if you’re
around recent Top 50 editions – it working in the western market, you’ve
remains a powerhouse in the mobile not heard much about Sea and its gaming
gaming market, but has had its third
EN TRY! division, Garena. But you’ll almost
consecutive year of falling revenues.
P NEW certainly have heard of the games it’s
Of course, even with a yearly decrease, worked on in Southeast Asia.
the developer’s 2019 revenue came to $1.56 Take Speed Drifters, the name Tencent’s
billion from just five games – impressive, no QQ Speed goes under outside of China. Or
matter how you slice it. And with people Arena of Valor, another Tencent title it
stuck in lockdown earlier this year, you’d operates outside of the behemoth’s home
expect that figure to grow for 2020. country, where it’s known as Honor of Kings.
Softography And who can forget Call of Duty: Mobile,
Let’s remember Clash Royale has now
Softography which proved so popular for Activision?
cleared an estimated $3 billion in revenue Clash of Clans
just over four years since launch. And its Free Fire But the cherry on top of Garena’s ice
most recent game, Brawl Stars, has finally Clash Royale cream is Free Fire, an enormously popular
landed in China, where it got off to a battle royale that’s given the likes of PUBG
respectable start thanks to first-week
Brawl Stars
Mobile and Fortnite a run for its money in
revenues of $17.5 million. recent years.
All that said, Supercell’s future is looking It’s already cleared $1 billion in lifetime
a little odd right now. For one, its much- revenues, around two years after launch,
anticipated Rush Wars was cancelled not from 450 million registered users. And,
long after being soft-launched, largely according to Sea’s Q2 2020 financial release,
because the developer failed to “find the the game now sees over 100 million daily
fun”. And the studio currently has Hay Day active users, helping it become the highest
Pop in soft-launch, a grossing mobile game in Latin America and
match-3 puzzler using an Southeast Asia for that quarter.
older IP that marks a It’s seriously impressive stats for a game
huge departure for the that still has some markets left to capture,
Finnish developer. but with Fortnite now
Still, we know that out of the race for the
Supercell only launches a new time being, we could
game when it’s guaranteed to be a see Garena muscling in
billion-dollar release, so whatever it’s on the game’s market
working on now that is allowed to share in the US and
see the light of day will almost Europe before long.
certainly set chins wagging,
match-3 or not.
28 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 296 5
2020 2020
www.roblox.com www.scopely.com
Roblox Scopely
What can be said about Roblox that hasn’t Scopely’s rise through the Top 50 ranks is
already been said? The company and its nothing short of meteoric – only two
gaming platform are nothing short of a years ago it clocked in at #33, before
phenomenon, and 2020 has seen it firmly leaping into tenth place for 2019. And
cement its place in the mobile ecosystem. now, thanks to an already stellar 2020, it’s
For starters, Roblox on mobile surpassed climbing ever higher.
an estimated $1 billion in revenue in It all started with a $200 million series D
November 2019, and added another $500 funding round in October 2019, which
million to that figure within just seven ended up being topped off with an
months. And thanks to a $150 million additional $200 million in March 2020.
funding round in February 2020, the Softography
And that money went straight to work,
company is now valued at $4 billion. with the publisher acquiring FoxNext Scrabble GO
It’s not just Roblox that’s raking in the Games, along with games Marvel Strike
cash, either. Developers using the platform Force and the in-development Avatar: Star Trek Fleet
Softography to sell their own experiences are currently Pandora Rising, and its very own console Command
on track to make $250 million, with some developer in the form of Cold Iron Studio.
Roblox Marvel Strike Force
teams hitting over a million concurrent But it hasn’t forgotten its casual roots
players on their products. either, with Scrabble GO launching in March
But all that pales in comparison to the 2020 and reportedly experiencing the best
fact that Roblox is currently played by over launch week of a mobile word game of all
half of children under 16 in the US. time. Scopely snapped up the game’s
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that a large developer, PierPlay, a month after launch.
number of the game’s developers To top it all off, it’s made several key
themselves are under 18, meaning its huge hires, including former Rogue Games
audience is also creating content for their founder and CEO Mike DeLaet as its new
peers, and getting paid for it in the process. SVP of strategic partnerships, while
With online communities now more ex-Product Madness MD Daniel Freireich
important than ever, Roblox may well be on became its president of games.
track to have its best year ever in 2020, and With plenty of funds
now it’s a question of how it will capitalise raised and games doing
on that milestone and grow for the future. well across the board,
Dismiss it as “just a kid’s game” at your peril Scopely is well
– it’s so much more. positioned to become
an even more
powerful force in
mobile gaming
– next year’s
Top 50 list
should tell us.
30 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 314 3
2020 2020
www.nianticlabs.com www.tencent.com
Niantic Tencent
Pokémon GO is a game designed almost Tencent’s presence in mobile is
entirely around going outside, and if unavoidable. Look over this list and
there’s one thing 2020 will be you’re sure to find plenty of companies
remembered for, it’s everyone in the that have at some point received
world doing the exact opposite. investment from the Chinese behemoth,
With this in mind, it’s frankly amazing and some that may even be owned by it, if
that Pokémon GO has not only successfully only indirectly.
managed to turn itself into a game that can But Tencent is a phenomenally huge
be enjoyed from the comfort of your own publisher and developer in its own right,
abode, but that it’s experienced its second- Softography and outside of all its investments and
best year of revenues since launch during acquisitions, it has a thriving mobile
that period. Pokémon GO Softography business all of its own.
Niantic hasn’t just kept its spoils to itself, Harry Potter: Wizards PUBG Mobile A large part of that comes down to
either. It made a huge donation to Black Unite internal team TiMi Studios, the developer
charities and communities using proceeds Pokémon Unite behind the beast that is PUBG Mobile and
from 2020’s Pokémon GO Fest, and it
Catan – World China-only sister title Game for Peace, which
provided free advertising for businesses
Explorers Honor of Kings
cleared $3 billion in revenues in July 2020
across the world in-game to help out when and is consistently one of the top-grossing
the pandemic was at its peak. games across the mobile market.
But Niantic’s business doesn’t begin and TiMi is also partnering with SNK to bring
end with its monster capturing title. It beloved run-and-gun series Metal Slug to
acquired 6D.ai to help further its AR mobile with a new game, and with The
technology, and it’s partnered with Pokémon Company on Pokémon Unite, an
interactive theatre company Punchdrunk arena battler that bears a striking
to help “reinvent storytelling”. resemblance to Honor of Kings – which, by
It does have other games too – though the way, is also still incredibly successful.
these maybe haven’t been the success Tencent still continues to invest heavily,
Niantic was hoping for. Ingress, and Harry of course, most recently picking up a
Potter: Wizards Unite have been all but minority stake in Voodoo, but also
forgotten at this point, and the acquiring shares in Sumo Digital and
soft-launched Catan – World Explorers PlatinumGames, to name just three. It’s
could be seen as an odd choice for its even helped Nintendo bring its Switch to
next release. China, but that’s another story for
But with ten games in development another list.
and its Real World Platform getting Clearly, Tencent isn’t going
better all the time, Niantic remains a anywhere, and you can expect the
company to be reckoned with – and giant to continue lumbering around
one that can clearly survive the higher reaches of our Top 50 list
even the toughest times. for many years to come.
32 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 332 1
2020 2020
www.neteasegames.com www.zynga.com
NetEase Zynga
NetEase is another Chinese colossus that We thought in 2019 that Zynga had done a
keeps on growing and doing ever more fantastic job turning its business around,
exciting things in the mobile space, but its finally getting the most out of the mobile
future right now – especially for western market, and growing rapidly. But we had
gamers – is perhaps its most appealing yet. no idea about its plans for 2020.
Not that its games in China are slouching, In particular, the eye-watering
of course. Its Fantasy Westward Journey acquisition of Turkish developer Peak
game series, which includes a recently- Games for $1.85 billion shook the mobile
released 3D edition, continues to do the industry, and marks a clear faith in the
Softography numbers in the publisher’s home country, continued performance of the developer’s
for example. main games Toy Blast and Toon Blast. Softography
Harry Potter: Magic
Awakened And its licensed titles consistently see But Zynga continues to explore new Toon Blast
pretty staggering results – like its 4v1 take on avenues, too. It picked up hypercasual
Lord of the Rings: Tom and Jerry, which accrued over 100 studio Rollic for $168 million, marking its Zynga Poker
Rise to War million players within its first year of release. first foray into the fastest-growing genre out
Harry Potter:
there, released Word Pop for Amazon’s
Marvel Duel Indeed, its ability to acquire and Puzzles and Spells
effectively utilise licences is precisely what Alexa, and has signed a multi-game deal
makes NetEase so exciting currently, with a with Snapchat.
trio of games being of particular interest: Existing titles and studios continue to
Marvel Duel, Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, perform well – Empires & Puzzles has
and Harry Potter: Magic Awakened. cleared $500 million in lifetime revenues,
The first two are already in soft-launch, while NaturalMotion has opened a new
while Magic Awakened is currently in beta in office in Birmingham.
China and may never see the light of day And it already has a huge licensed game
beyond the country, but all three have the in soft-launch, with match-3 puzzler Harry
potential to be huge hits if done right. Potter: Puzzles and Spells in development
NetEase also has its eyes on the future, thanks to a partnership with Portkey Games
setting up a new development studio in and Warner Bros.
Tokyo specifically for next-gen games, We already know Zynga isn’t planning
including mobile. And on top of all that, it’s on slowing down its M&A strategy, and with
listed itself on the Hong Kong Stock over $2 billion spent on new studios this
Exchange, reportedly raising $2.7 billion in year alone, it clearly isn’t scared of splashing
the process. the cash to get where it wants to be.
How these partnerships and investments Zynga is the shining example of a
will play out is too early to assess, but fast-growing, successful mobile developer
NetEase’s performance in next year’s Top with an exciting future ahead – and why it’s
50 should offer some guidance. topped our Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list
for the second year in a row.
34 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 352020 Top 50 Developer 2020: At-a-glance
20 %
TO USE C O
P5 OD F
0L E: F
21 Nexon Page 20 IST
20
1 Zynga
Page 35
22
23
Nintendo
CyberAgent
Page 20
Page 19
24 Com2uS Page 19
2 NetEase
Page 34
25 Take-Two Interactive Page 18
Tencent 26 Sony Page 18
3 Page 33
27 Tilting Point Page 17
Niantic 28 SYBO Games Page 17
4 Page 32
29 Glu Mobile Page 15
5 Scopely 30 Bandai Namco Page 15
Page 31
31 Electronic Arts Page 14
6 Roblox 32 DeNA Page 14
Meet top developers, publishers, investors,
Page 30
33 Lockwood Publishing Page 13
7 Sea
Page 29 34 Gameloft Page 13
media and toolmakers from around the world
35 Rovio Page 12
8 Supercell
Page 28 36 Miniclip Page 12
37 Jam City Page 11
9 Activision Blizzard
Page 27 38 Mixi Page 11
Playrix
39 Lego Page 10
10 Page 26
40 Capcom Page 10
11 Epic Games Page 25 41 GungHo Interactive Page 9
12 Pearl Abyss Page 25 42 Kwalee Page 9
PLUS!
13 Playtika Page 24 43 Jagex Page 7
FINN-TASTIC
14 44
FRINGE
Outfit7 Page 24 Hutch Games Page 7
15 Netmarble 45 Frogmind
EVENTS
Page 23 Page 6
16 Voodoo Page 23 46 Annapurna Interactive Page 6
17 N3twork Page 22 47 East Side Games Page 5
18 Moon Active Page 22 48 Ndemic Page 5
19 Stillfront Group Page 21 49 Huuuge Games Page 4
20 Applovin Page 21 50 Capybara Games Page 4
– NEW ENTRY for 2020 list
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