Kabam has certainly established itself in the mobile market over the last few years with several hit games – but that isn’t stopping the publisher from shooting for a loftier goal.
After receiving a whopping $120 million investment from Alibaba, the company now vows to create the first “billion dollar video game,” according to a report from Re/Code.
COO Kent Wakeford has noted that “we’re really going all in in China.” Its Beijing office, which was first established back in 2011, will move forward with plans to make games aimed at a Chinese market – a change of pace from its usual Western development. With a market of 700 million mobile devices, it’s going to be a big move.
Some restructuring of the company will take place, resulting in a loss of approximately 25 jobs, but in turn, it hopes to create a game that will reach the $1 billion mark in annual revenue – a goal that has yet to be reached, though Supercell’s Clash of Clans comes pretty close with its monthly earnings of around $80 million in in-app purchases.
Wakeford has high hopes for said game. “The real opportunity is what’s happening at the top,” he said. “Kabam is only one of a handful of companies positioned to go after the top of the market.”
As part of its transition towards this goal, output from 12 previous releases will be cut, with attention turned to four new games for release this year – “AAA mobile games,” as Wakeford notes.
Kabam is no stranger to mobile success, as its previous earnings of $400 million managed to top its previous year’s income of $360 million. But it has its work cut out for it if it intends to make a globally received game that can clear the billion-dollar mark.
Whether it can top the massive success of Clash has yet to be seen, but we certainly wish them the best of luck.