2020 2020 in association with The mobile movers & shakers of the last 12 months Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 1 2020 2020 Contents a-z Welcome… 2020 Our Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list is now in its 11th year, 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 Stadia and xCloud battling it out on smaller screens with p6 p13 p15 p9 p7 p4 p7 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 Your top 50 p11 p9 p10 p13 p12 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. We want to commemorate the developers making the big Paul Summers-Edwards | Senior Designer 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 the best of our knowledge. Steel Media can accept no Ric Cowley responsibility for inaccuracies that occur but where Editor – PocketGamer.biz mistakes are discovered we will correct any oversight. p28 p17 p18 p33 p17 p23 p35 2 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 3 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 50 months, but it’s fair to say that the arrival 48 surged due to rather obvious reasons: a of Grindstone has made a significant pandemic on the same scale as depicted P NEW ENTRY! 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. 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 49 47 narrative-led idle game developer East traditional mobile games, too. Side Games. P NEW ENTRY! Not only did it pick up the Trolls licence P NEW ENTRY! 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 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and diversifying its portfolio. Softography securing The Goldbergs IP for another title. On top of all that, Huuuge acquired Bow It’s Always Sunny: East Side is also looking to grow the idle Land developer Double Star and interactive The Gang Goes ads firm Playable Platform as part of its Softography 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 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 46 cemented itself as one of the most 44 with its original IP and a particularly big interesting and exciting mobile licence now in its catalogue. P NEW ENTRY! 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 If Found… bring more intriguing premium experiences Top Drives to the platform. 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 45 formula with its Rumble series – how else 43 RuneScape, though its sale to Macarthur can you explain its launch of Rumble Fortune Holding for $530 million is a sure Hockey so soon after Rumble Stars Soccer? P NEW ENTRY! P NEW ENTRY! 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 Rumble Hockey But Jagex is also looking forward: the release, presumably featuring the same recently announced deal to bring Flying influencer incentive. Old School Rumble Stars Soccer RuneScape Wild Hog’s next game to market signals its move into third-party publishing. 6 Top 50 Developer 2020 in association with 7 2020 2020 www.kwalee.com Kwalee It’s been a tough year for every developer, but Kwalee has taken the shift to remote 42 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 basis, the studio looks primed to grow its Softography development capabilities and expand its Bake It catalogue of hypercasual titles no matter what the future holds.