Based in Germany, with offices worldwide, Phoenix Games announced that it had completed the acquisition of Belgian mobile games studio, SmileyGamer for an undisclosed sum. SmileyGamer is a mobile games publisher based in Belgium.
“As with most of the studios we partner with, we saw a great opportunity to continue giving [SmileyGamer] the freedom to develop great games but applying our operational know-how to improve monetization. We’re excited to announce this at an important time for us, as we continue to grow and move into a new chapter, following the recent rebrand,” Kersting commented.
The founder and CEO of Phoenix Games, Klaas Kersting, said the acquisition will boost the Belgium based mobile games company growth and propel the development of its portfolio including scaling its new and upcoming seasonal titles.
Kersting said: “SmileyGamer were already doing a fantastic job in a competitive genre, delivering great games for their audience. We saw huge potential in maximizing their existing titles, as well as developing new themed games, by helping them understand how best to scale their business.”
Jochen De Schepper, the founder of SmileyGamer, said: “It’s been great to have had the opportunity to grow SmileyGamer from the ground up over the past five years. I am excited to move into a new chapter and pass the reins over to Phoenix since I know they will continue to make it a fantastic success and no doubt do an even better job than I ever did.”
SmileyGamer is well-known in the match-3 genre with its famous Christmas Sweeper franchise. Before the acquisition, the studio had annual revenue of over £5 million. Phoenix Games’ purchase has enabled the company to double its ad spending, with its ads revenue also soaring to 50%.
Since its inception in 2019, Phoenix Games funded small to mid-size studios focused on developing free-to-play games. The company bought UK-based developer Well Played Games the same year. It acquired two more studios in 2020: Promotion Software and its gaming division Sixteen Tons Entertainment, and Romanian company Studio Firefly.
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