Tag: mobile games

Next Games acquires Helsinki GameWorks.

Finland seems to be making a lot of mobile gaming news these days and the most recent is the creator behind the upcoming game The Walking Dead and other high-profile mobile games, Next Games, has recently acquired Helsinki GameWorks, a fellow Finish mobile games studio.

Next Games is excited about the deal as its new games will be launched soon.

The company’s CEO, Teemu Huuhtanen, said in a statement that he is very pleased to welcome employees from Helsinkin Game Works into their “family”. He added that “At Next Games we’ve focused on two key areas from the very beginning: building a robust portfolio and rock solid roadmap of games as well as ensuring we have an experienced team working on it. Joining forces is a logical move.”

The CEO of Helsinki GameWorks, Kalle Kaivola also stated that they are thrilled to be joining Next Games and said that being able to work with a talented team “on some of the most exciting IP in the world” is an opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime.

Kaivola has been appointed by Next Games as Head of Licensed Games and he will oversee the production of the upcoming game based on the popular AMC television series The Walking Dead. The game is called – The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land.

Helsinki is known for its mobile gaming talent.

The capital and largest city of Finland is home to Angry Birds creator, Rovio and Supercell, the studio behind Clash of Clans. Both companies have obtained huge success with their popular mobile game hits. Next Games wants to join these companies and become the next developer with the hit title.

However, the firm has no plans to wait until the launch of its first big mobile game. Its new acquirement will see the firm make a new product roadmap and add an expert group of game developers to its team, bringing its total staff to 45 from 33. The company intends to create a diverse portfolio of internally and externally developed games

Founded in 2013 by veterans from Supercell, Rovio, and Disney, Next Games raised $6 million earlier in 2014 from investors that include Jari Ovaskainen, Lowercase Capital, and IDG Ventures. It hopes to make a huge hit in the mobile gaming sector, a market which is anticipated to grow to $20 billion or possibly higher by the end of this year.

Mobile games may be the rulers of the gaming industry in 2015.

According to market research firm, Newzoo, the mobile gaming industry may be exceptionally strong next year, as mobile games are expected to beat console games in revenue, hitting the $30.3 billion mark in 2015, an increase from the anticipated $25 billion in 2014.

There has been strong year-to-date growth in both mature and emerging markets for tablet and smartphone games.

Compared to the predictions of SuperData Research, the Amsterdam-based Newzoo has greater optimism when it comes to mobile games. Newzoo’s rival, SuperDatat Research, expects that mobile games will only reach $21.1 billion by the end of 2014. That being said it is anticipated that by 2017, games for mobile devices will hit $40 billion.

According to the newly revised 2014 Newzoo forecast, Western Europe’s mobile games market revenue is anticipated to grow 47%, while North America’s is anticipated to grow 51%. Of all the markets, Southeast Asia and China are predicted to be the fastest growing and will expand by 86%

Newzoo credits the high mobile growth rate to “organic growth” for boosting the market in general and “cannibalistic growth”, which comes at the cost of other segments. Spending for massively multiplayer online games and online PC games is moving toward tablets and smartphones, while social, casual and handheld console gaming have weakened.

Apple mobile gaming is doing better than Nintendo.

It also appears that the game revenues of Apple could actually be two times greater than Nintendo in 2014. The electronics giant is expected to produce $4 billion in revenue from mobile games sold in iTunes. Meanwhile, Google may generate game revenue totaling $3 billion this year. On the flip side of the coin, Nintendo’s revenues were $2.4 billion in 2013 and this number is predicted to drop in 2014.

Newzoo CEO Peter Warman commented that in the mature Western mobile gaming markets, the battle between Android and iOS is shifting its focus to tablets. Although the iPad gives iOS the advantage in general mobile game spending, the Android market is split across diverse devices and operating systems.