Clash of Clans brings a threefold increase in sales for Supercell

Supercell has proved its position in mobile game development company when the Finnish group disclosed that their sales got a threefold increase and profits doubled last year.

Supercell started developing mobile games in 2011 and has fully released four games in total. However, the three freemium games (games provided free of charge, but money -premium is charged if players want to speed up their progress by buying some other features, goods, or functionality ) including Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, and Hay Day have generated a huge amount of revenue. These games have even held in top download charts for iOS, Android operating system for over the past two years.

Many people are curious about the sustainability of some games like Candy Crush while they are amid stalling profits as well as revenues.

GungHo Online Entertainment got a 6% rise in sales in 2014 to $1.4bn and 3% increase in operating profits. While King received 20% increase in revenues to $2.26bn in 2014, its pre-tax profits grew only 7% to $768m.

Despite the cancellation of Candy Crush soft-launch in Canada, the Finnish start-up has still become one of few companies to succeed in US, Europe, and big Asian markets. Supercell poured about €400m on marketing to attract players to Clash of Clans, Hay Day. These games are regularly updated with new features to keep players attracted. And there are about 10% of players who played Clash of Clans in 2012 are still playing it.

Five highest-grossing games

1. Clash of Clans 
Publisher: Supercell
Key facts: launched in 2012, the game is leading example of freemium games, where playing is free but real money is charged for in-app purchases

2. Game of War — Fire Age 
Publisher: Machine Zone
Key facts: banks on its international appeal as players from different countries can communicate using an automatic translation engine covering 32 languages

3. Candy Crush Saga 
Publisher: King
Key facts: started on Facebook but became so popular it helped the UK developer list in New York

4. Candy Crush Soda Saga 
Publisher: King
Key facts: some analysts expected the eagerly awaited follow-up to cannibalise the original version, but its success has led the company to consider further sequels to its signature game

5. Boom Beach 

Publisher: Supercell
Key facts: along with Clash of Clans and Hay Day, Boom Beach is another free offering from the Finnish group. It was released a year ago.