King.com overcomes Zynga in the social and mobile gaming space
Zynga has long been at the head of the totem pole in terms of mobile gaming, largely due to the company’s relationship with Facebook. Recently, the social network began loosening its ties to Zynga in an effort to break free from a company that has been facing very serious challenges. Now, the struggling developer has been supplanted by an up and coming social game studio known as King.com. The studio’s “Candy Crush” title recently eclipsed Zynga’s most popular games.
Candy Crush Saga has more than 9.7 million users
According to information from AppData, a service that measures daily active users for mobile and web applications, the “Candy Crush Saga” boasts of more than 9.7 million users worldwide. Julien Codorniou, head of European gaming partnerships with Facebook, notes that King.com has managed to become the second largest game developer on the Facebook platform in just under 18 months. King.com may be able to use this momentum to power major growth this year.
Cross promotion nets King.com major success and growth
Kimg.com attributes much of its success to the fact that it uses its existing games to promote its new titles. Thus, the 9.7 million people playing the Candy Crush Saga are exposed to the company’s latest games, increasing the chances of these people actually playing these games as well. While Zynga still holds dominance in the realm of monthly active users, those playing Zynga games typically only log in to the company’s titles for small periods of time throughout the month, lessening the developer’s opportunity to sell products to gamers.
Mobile gaming represents massive, lucrative market
According to a recent study from Flurry, a mobile research and consulting firm, free-to-play games accounted for 80% of the $10 billion mobile gaming market seen in 2012. There can be no doubt that mobile gaming is a force to be reckoned with, especially with mobile titles like Candy Crush Saga boasting of such a gargantuan user base. King.com is well on its way to becoming the next ruler of the social and mobile gaming space.
S2 Games founds iGames to focus on mobile gaming
S2 Games, a U.S. game developer with a strong presence in the online gaming space, has been bulking up to prepare for its entry into the mobile gaming sector. Earlier this month, S2 Games launched iGames, a wholly-owned subsidiary that is entirely devoted to the design and production of mobile games. The company has been hiring new talent to make a strong entry into the mobile gaming space, hoping to etch out its own niche in the sector and cater to its fans that have long been tethered to mobile devices.
Developer continues to win acclaim with flagship game
S2 Games is most well known for its Heroes of Newerth title. The game was released in 2010 and has since become a major success with gamers in the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre. While Heroes of Newerth is sometimes criticized as being almost a carbon copy of its predecessor (DOTA), it remains one of the most well-loved titles in the online gaming space. Because of the success of Heroes of Newerth, S2 Games has remained focus on the title for the past two years, so it is unclear exactly what the developer plans in terms of mobile gaming.
iGames looking for new, highly talented employees
iGames may be working on a way to bring Heroes of Newerth to mobile devices, or the company may be developing an entirely new title to meet the needs of mobile gamers. S2 Games has not yet announced any concrete plans for mobile gaming, apart from establishing a development studio devoted to that sector. The company is currently hiring mobile content managers, an assistant director of mobile games, a mobile game designer, and mobile game UI developer, among others.
S2 Games prepares to compete with other developers in the mobile realm
Mobile gaming has becoming a powerful force in the game industry, as it represents an extremely lucrative market. Several development studios are making moves to enter the mobile gaming space, with S2 Games being one of the latest to do so. These companies, which have traditionally focused on static platforms such as PCs and consoles, will have to compete with companies that have already established a strong presence in the mobile gaming space.
