Glu Mobile is famous for developing games that are cross-branded with hit licenses, like James Bond: World of Espionage, or partnered with celebrities like Kim Kardashian in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. A recent report compared Glu Mobile to a number of high profile mobile games publishers including King, EA and Gameloft. Although Glu Mobile is the smallest of the five companies mentioned, its games managed to maintain consistent audience engagement with excellent monetization statistics.
The recently released Sniper X with Jason Statham marks the first time the mobile games company has worked with a male celebrity – action movie star Jason Statham. His name and voice are featured in the game, and Glu is banking that Statham’s popularity will help make the game another success.
Jason Statham has starred in over 40 blockbuster action movies, including The Transporter, The Expendables, and the recently released Furious 7. His voice is featured in the game as a mentor figure. Sniper X with Jason Statham is a free-to-play game available now on the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
When asked about how Jason Statham became involved with the game, Chris Akhavan, President of Publishing at Glu Mobile said, “Glu identified Jason Statham as the perfect fit for the type of game the company wanted to create. We reached out to him with the concept.”
“With his credit list in action movies, Jason Statham was a natural fit for the type of game we wanted to make. This is a gritty action-adventure game which suits the types of roles Jason Statham is known for.”
This isn’t the first time Glu Mobile has developed and promoted an action game based on an action movie franchise or star. For example, James Bond: World of Espionage is currently the only video game tied-in with Spectre, the upcoming Bond movie set to release on November 6th, and likely the last time Daniel Craig (whose likeness is featured in the game) will assume the role of the super spy. However, Sniper X is the first time a male actor became directly involved with one of Glu’s projects.
We asked Akhavan how important it was to feature the name, likeness and voice of a well known actor like Jason Statham and learned that, “Having someone of Jason Statham caliber integrated so deeply into the game really brings it to life. We saw this as a natural extension to the game with the goal of having players feel like they re not just watching a Jason Statham movie; they re in one. Players will get a wide spectrum of responses from Jason based on how well they do and what s happening in the game.”
“Jason Statham serves as the player s coach and mentor,” giving them a chance to become their own action movie experience right from their smartphones or tablets.
