Appy Entertainment represents one facet of success for game developers who migrated to mobile, and perhaps the more down to earth version of it. There are no theme parks based on their games, no Halloween costumes, nor any films or TV shows, at least not yet. The studio was founded four years ago by a team who cut their teeth on making big budget console games, and with a lot of experience working on original IP coming from Oddworld, High Moon Studios and Midway Games. Two of the co-founders, Chris Ulm and Paul O’Connor, were the minds behind Malibu Comics, creators of Men In Black. They know a thing or two about IP creation.
Since its founding, Appy has put out a string of iOS games based on original IP that have either become modest successes or, as in the case with Trucks and Skulls and Face Fighter, hit it big with a global audience. With their last two titles, Appy has made the move to freemium.
We talked with Ulm and Appy’s game director Rory McGuire about how they’ve used their knack for creating art-rich games based on original IP to continually turn gamers into fans, and how that’s benefitting them as their games become free-to-play.
