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Mobile success stories are becoming quite rampant these days, with many games cleaning up in millions from in-app purchases and other tie-ins with brands. Well, add Marvel: Contest of Champions to the list, as Kabam’s latest effort featuring Marvel superheroes (and supervillains) is raking in the dough.
According to VentureBeat, Kabam chief executive Kevin Chou announced that the action-based mobile game Marvel: Contest of Champions has surpassed $100 million in gross revenue in just seven months’ time. That makes it the fastest growing title under the Kabam label ever. (Of course, having the Marvel name doesn’t hurt, since comic books still sell incredibly well and the films have no problem generating big revenue.)
With this, Kabam’s focus on AAA high-quality free-to-play mobile games appears to be paying off, as Marvel has achieved over 40 million downloads, becoming a top-grossing hit in over 106 countries. And those profits are bound to grow even bigger, as the game is set to release in China later this year – a big mobile market in itself.
“Boy, what a difference a single year can make,” said Chou on the game’s success, which lapped the previous $100 million record set by The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-Earth, which took 13 months to reach that figure. With Marvel, the company now has five games that have reached that landmark overall, keeping it profitable since 2012.
“We’ve seen many great companies fall in China because they did not hit the market appropriately,” said Chou, speaking about Marvel‘s launch this fall. However, the company has many partners that will assure it makes a smooth transition to that market, including Alibaba, which invested $120 million in the company. “I am so excited to bring Marvel: Contest of Champions to China,” he added. “I could not be more enthused.”
The game features a who’s who of Marvel superstars, including Wolverine, Hulk and many more. It’s instantly appealing to not only comic book fans, but also casual mobile players who are itching for a fight.
Kabam should have no trouble adding even more profits behind the strength of Marvel. Now the only question is what franchise could reach the $100 million mark next…
The trailer for Marvel: Contest of Champions is below.
