Mobile Game Companies are working hard for their booming market. At the end of 2019, there were 2.4 billion mobile gamers worldwide and so those mobile game companies are trying to offer the most modern games than the rival mobile game companies. And the mobile game companies are now trying to modernize their mobile games with emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Realit (VR).
What are the applications with the most number of download? The answer is simple. Mobile games!! Although there are millions of games available on the application stores, developing a mobile game still provides a long-term revenue. Because of the market and the profit, the mobile game companies are very eager to develop new games.
According to statics, mobile gaming is much bigger than the others, such as PC gaming, PlayStation and Xbox. Thus, mobile games dominates more than 50 percent of the global games industry revenue. Mobile game companies earn nearly 50 billion USD in revenue and a profit of more than 15 billion. And the mobile game market is forecast to grow 3 percent annually up to 57 billion USD by 2024.
Mobile phones have become essential in our daily life for a long time. Smartphones expand the gaming market beyond consoles and personal computers. Especially, during these days of the novel corona virus, people mostly find games to make themselves relaxed. There are many people who usually do not possess a console game, a pc or a PlayStation. For those people, mobile games are the best for them as they do not need any specific one to play games. They just need Play Store or App Store to play games. Thus, mobile game companies are going to expand their business more than now in the future.
Mobile game companies have driven growth in “hyper casual” games that appeal to people who do not consider themselves hardcore gamers. A hyper-casual game is a mobile video game which is easy-to-play and mostly free-to-play, featuring very minimalistic user interfaces. They become popular since 2017 as these games can be quickly played after downloading. You do not need to be smart to play those games as the games do not need any tutorial or instructions.
There are a rapid growth in free popular games. It makes mobile game companies rich through ad space and rewarded video ads. It also helps marketers reach their consumers in a brand-safe environment through mobile game companies. Free-to-play mobile games with this type of advertising grew to 94 percent in 2019 from 87 percent in 2018. There are also a kind of advertisement, a rewarded video ads, rose from 65 percent in 2018 to 82 percent in 2019. Mobile game companies offer their gamers game content for watching that advertisement.
Here are the richest mobile game companies in 2020.
Table of Contents
Microsoft – 1 Trillion USD
Everyone knows Bill Gates. And it is not surprise that Bill Gates’ company stands first among the richest mobile game companies. Bill Gates’ company Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company while its headquarters are situated in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft Corporation develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services.
Microsoft Corporation, one of the greatest four company of United States, earned 12 billion USD revenue from their mobile game production. Microsoft’s game production alone would not make to stand first in the richest mobile game companies. But, there is no doubt that as a mother company, Microsoft Corporation, whose net worth is 1 Trillion USD, would stand first in game production. The company founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, reached trillion-dollar market cap, becoming the third U.S. public company to be valued at over 1 trillion USD after two American Giant companies, Apple and Amazon.
Mobile games produced by Microsoft makes profit annually. The famous game series, Age of Empires, makes an appearance by way of Age of Empires: Castle Siege. And Minecraft, is able to be integrated with Xbox Live, and other famous games would make Microsoft stand first in the list in the future.
You may think it is not fair for Microsoft to stand first among richest mobile game companies as they earn most by selling PCs and software. But Microsoft is the investor of the Xbox, main competitor of PlayStation. And Microsoft has earned a net worth of over 400 Billion USD. This makes Microsoft to stand first among mobile game companies.
Nintendo – 85 Billion
Nintendo is the richest game company in Japan and in Asia. Since 2016, every gamer has seen its famous logo in white on red background. It is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics video game and mobile game company. Nintendo firstly focused on games that utilize unique elements of its consoles. But they realize the growth of the mobile gaming market in the early 2010s led to several successive fiscal quarters where they were running at a loss. Then Nintendo entered into mobile games market to introduce their franchise properties to mobile players with a goal to bring them to buy Nintendo’s consoles later.
From then, Nintendo has gained success in mobile gaming industry. Now, everyone knows Nintendo. They are probably the oldest gaming entity in gaming including mobile game companies. Being founded in 1889, Nintendo established itself as a playing card manufacturer and now has dominated in gaming industry. They have been accredited with saving the entire gaming industry with the release of the original Super Mario Bros. and now they are available on mobile versions.
In talking about mobile gaming, Nintendo Switch is unforgettable. You can go everywhere with your Switch and play games any time with great quality. The Nintendo Switch family of systems sold 55.77 million units and earned millions with Switch only.
Sony – 37.45 Billion
Sony has done very huge investments in mobile game development. They are a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Konan, Minato, in Tokyo. Sony is not only one of the world’s richest mobile game companies, but also the world’s largest manufacturers of consumer and professional electronic products, the largest video game console company, the second largest video game publisher and record company.
In talking about richest mobile game companies, it is not a surprise that Sony’s game catalogue speaks for itself. They are one of the biggest mobile game companies making great investment in mobile gaming platforms. And according to statistics, Sony have spent billions of dollars just for their mobile game development. Sony has also brought beloved franchises like Rachet and Clank and Spiderman to mobile.
In 2016, Sony officially announced their brand new studio, known as ForwrdWorks, a mobile game company located in Tokyo, Japan. Sony’s initial plans for ForwardWorks is to court fans who use “smart devices” – that is, products with Android and iOS operating systems – in Japanese and Asian markets by producing mobile games using PlayStation.
Sony earns massive earnings from PlayStation and Network Services which include game, hardware and service earnings. So, Sony’s PlayStation is a very popular game. Sony knows it. So, they want to conquer mobile games by bringing PlayStation into mobile games. That’s why Sony is going to conquer in mobile gaming industry as one of the richest mobile game companies.
And Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, developed an online, free-to-play Japanese mobile game named Fate/Grand Order that has become the most profitable game in mobile games. The game is based on Type-Moon’s Fate/stay night franchise. Fate/Grand Order gained 982 million USD in 2017, making it the year’s sixth highest-grossing mobile game. In 2018, Fate/Grand Order gained 1.2 billion USD becoming the year’s seventh highest-grossing free-to-play game. At 13th March, 2019, the game has grossed more than 3 billion USD worldwide. The total revenue gained by the end of 2019 has become 4 billion USD.
EA Games – 22.9 Billion USD
Electronic Arts or also known as EA Games is also one of the richest mobile game companies. They are headquartered in Redwood City, California. Apple employee Trip Hawkins founded and incorporated EA Games on 27th May, 1982. EA Games was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and they were notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible for their games.
EA has developed and published games of established franchises including Battlefield, Need for Speed, The Sims, Medal of Honor, Command and Conquer, Dead Space, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Army of Two, Titanfall and Star Wars, as well as Ea Sports titles FIFA, Madden NFL, NBA Live, NHL, and EA Sports UFC.
EA Games has managed to play their games in mobiles that enables their customers to play anytime anywhere. Moreover, EA mobile games are available for both IOS and Android. EA Games generates their revenue mainly from sales of video games and in-game purchases. Thus, like Sony, they are bringing great investment in mobile gaming to stand as one of the richest mobile game companies. And they have gained great success in those strategy.
EA Games’ Total Revenue has grown 10 percent between 2015 Fiscal Year and 2020 Fiscal Year. And it could grow by another 20 percent by Fiscal 2020. Most of those revenue came from mobile gaming accounts by over 50 percent. That was said by An EA Games executive during her keynote at the Mobile Marketing Forum.
Activision Blizzard – 20 Billion USD
Activision Blizzard is one of the richest mobile game companies in the world. They are mainly developing video games but also investing huge investment in mobile gaming industry. They are based in Santa Monica, California. It stands as one of the richest mobile game companies in the world. This mobile game company was formed by the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games. Activision Blizzard currently contains five business units: Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Kin, Major League Gaming, and Activision Blizzard Studios.
Activision Blizzard owns and operates additional studios under an independent studios modle under Activision Publishing, including Treyarch, Infinity Ward, High Moon Studios, and Toys for Bob. Among major intellectual properties produced by Activision Blizzard includes Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk’s Spyro Skylanders, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of Hearthstone, Overwatch and Candy Crush Saga. Activision Blizzard’s titles have broken a number of release records. As of March 2018, it is the largest game company in the Americas and Europe in term of revenue and market capitalization.
Why Activision Blizzard stands in one of the richest mobile game companies? Activision Blizzard has gained a lot of profit from sales of games for consoles, mobile games and also other platforms. Mobile game sales make up 2.3 billion USD in sales. That is roughly 35 percent of the total revenue. And Activision Blizzard is one of those mobile game companies who are likely to grow more in the coming years. Moreover, Activision Blizzard’s share has hovered around 43 percent from 2016 to 2018.
Tencent – 20 Billion USD
Tencent is a Chinese multinational technology conglomerate holding company while its mobile game subsidiary is one of the richest mobile game companies in the world. Tencent was founded in 1998, and its subsidiaries globally market various internet-related services and products, including in entertainment, artificial intelligence, and other technology. Their twin-skyscraper headquarters, Tencent Seafront Towers are based in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen.
Why Tencent is including in the richest mobile game companies? It is very simple. Tencent owns 80 percent of Supercell, a very successful Finnish mobile game company. Moreover, they are the world’s largest video game vendor. It is among the largest social media, venture capital and investment corporations. Its services include social network, music, web protals, e-commerce, mobile games, internet services, payment systems, smartphones and multiplayer online games. They also own Chinese offerings such as instant messengers like Tencent QQ and WeChat.
The Chinese Technology group Tencent Holdings has invested heavily in developing their gaming business. In 2019, the online games of Tencent grossed 17 billion USD. This is a ten-fold increase compared to 2010. This amount is equal to 30 percent of Tencent Holdings’ total annual revenue. Moreover, the entertainment giant has been named as the world’s top game publisher by revenue in the recent years. Moreover, they have much stake in Supercell, a successful Finnish mobile game company.
GungHo Entertainment – 14.4 Billion
One of the most fascinating story during these years would be the rapid rise of GungHo, a Japanese mobile game company as its stock surge by more than 6,000 percent in a single year because of one hit mobile game called Puzzle and Dragons. And now, GungHo is now worth 14.4 billion USD on public markets.
Gungho was primarily popular for hosting Japanese server of Ragnarok Online, and their development of Ragnarok DS for the Nintendo DS. Moreover, the company has earned huge financial success from its mobile game Puzzle and Dragons, was reportedly responsible for 91 percent of the company’s 1.6 billion revenues for the year 2013.
GungHo’s rise came through Puzzle and Dragons. The game is a puzzle matching title. The player has to line up several matching titles in a row as they collect cute animal characters. The level up and battle other monsters and bosses. The company’s success underscores a big shift in power between mobile gaming platform providers like DeNA and GREE, which ruled in a predominantly feature phone era, and first-party game providers, which do not need to rely on an extra distributor on top of Apple’s IOS or Google’s Android platforms.
Zynga – 7 Billion USD
Zynga is an American mobile game company founded in April 2007 with headquarters in San Francisco, California, United States. The company has been focusing in mobile games and so they have become one of the richest mobile game companies in the world. Zynga has their own mission as “connecting the world through games.” Zynga is well known for FarmVille that had 10 million daily active users within six months. Zynga was very successful in 2017 with Zynga Poker and Words with Friends 2. Zynga has also developed CSR Racing 2, the most popular racing game on mobile devices. So, it is not a surprise why Zynga includes in the richest mobile game companies.
Zynga is a so much successful mobile game company that they announced that they will buy Turkish developer Peak for 1.8 billion USD.
Zynga generates their revenue form social games, such as CSR Racing, Farm Ville, Zynga Poker, and Words with Friends. Zynga is a mobile game company earning revenues under two segments, Online Gaming and Advertisements. Zynga’s games sales accounts for over 70 percent of total revenues. Zynga earns about 25 percent of their revenue through their advertising services by in-game features.
Facebook, iPhone and android game users make Zynga earn a lot of money becoming one of the richest mobile game companies. Zynga has a strong base of 85 million monthly active users. Zynga’s huge gaming audience enables them to market new games to its existing users at low costs. So, there are much potential for Zynga to be in top mobile companies in the coming years.
King Digital Entertainment – 6 Billion USD
King Digital Entertainment is a mobile game company based in St. Julian’s, Malta, that specializes in the creation of social games. King became popular after releasing the cross-platform title Candy Crush Saga in 2012, considered one of the most financially successful games utilizing the freemium model. King was acquired by Activision Blizzard in February 2016 for 2.9 Billion USD, and operates as its own entity within that company.
Candy Crush Saga is the most successful game that King has made. It is a free-to-play match-three puzzle mobile game for Facebook. It is also available for other versions for IOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 10. It is considered as one of the first and most successful uses of a freemium model; while the game can be played completely through without spending money while the players can also buy special actions to help clear more difficult boards, from which King makes its revenues.
Candy Crush Saga was so much successful that King Digital Entertainment is one of the most successful mobile game company earning one million per day at its peak period. In 2014, over 93 million people worldwide were playing Candy Crush Saga, while King earned over 493 million USD revenue over a three-month period. After five years of its release on mobile, there were 2.7 billion downloads of Candy Crush Saga. Since then, King released three related titles, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Candy Crush Jelly Saga and Candy Crush Friends Saga.
Niantic – 4 Billion USD
While talking about mobile game companies, can we exclude the creators of Pokemon Go? Absolutely No! The creators of Pokemon Go, Niantic, is an American mobile game company best known for developing the augmented reality mobile games Ingress, Pokemon Go, and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Niantic is a mobile game company that was formed as Niantic Labs in 2010 as an internal startup within Google and they have become independent entity in October 2015. Moreover, Niantic now has offices in San Francisco, Bellevue, Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, Hong Kong, Tokyo and London.
The most popular game that Niantic has produced is Pokemon Go that have become an overnight global phenomenon, significantly increasing the use and visibility of augmented reality technology. In addition to topping app store charts in most regions, Apple announced that Pokemon Go had become the most downloaded application in a first week ever, which was topped by Super Mario Run later that year. Niantic Labs is estimated to have made more than 3.1 billion USD from Pokemon Go. Still, Pokemon Go’s success has helped Niantic to become a leading augmented reality developer and one of the most successful and richest mobile game company in the industry.
Niantic has also opened up their application building and AR toolset, the Niantic Real World Platform, to third-party developers. Moreover, they have also built a Harry Potter AR game in partnership with Warner Bros. as well as a reboot to their original AR game Ingress called Ingress Prime.
