Kwalee

Last updated

Kwalee Ltd.
Company type Private
Industry Video games
Founded2011;13 years ago (2011)
Founder David Darling
Headquarters
Leamington Spa
,
England
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Subsidiaries Tictales
Website kwalee.com

Kwalee Ltd. is a British video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in May 2011 by David Darling, co-founder and former CEO of Codemasters who is hailed as one of the 'founding fathers' of the UK games industry. [1] The company publishes games on mobile, PC and console platforms. It is known for its hypercasual games for iOS and Android devices, with a large internal development studio helping the company to more than 700 million game downloads in total. Based in Leamington Spa [2] in the county of Warwickshire, Kwalee is one of the several companies that make up the Leamington Spa video gaming cluster.

Contents

As of 2022, the company also has offices in Bangalore, [3] Beijing [4] and Portugal. [5]

Kwalee employs over 180 technical, marketing, publishing and administrative staff in its offices, [6] including Andrew Graham (designer and programmer of Micro Machines) and COO Jason Falcus (programmer of NBA Jam [7] ). In 2020, the company began to publish PC and console games with Max Everingham joining from Team17 to head up a new division. [8]

The Kwalee Name

Kwalee is the Australian Aboriginal for “wait for me,” used as the name for a sailboat belonging to David Darling's grandfather, who taught him electronics. During his youth, Darling sailed on it frequently, thus the name Kwalee is a homage to the grandfather who inspired his career path. [9]

Expansion

In 2019, Kwalee launched the publishing side of its business. [10] This team works with third-party developers to help their games reach a wider audience by signing and publishing them under the Kwalee brand.

Successes of the Kwalee publishing department include Rocket Sky! from developer DP Space AG, which has been a number one app in 11 countries including the United Kingdom, France and Australia, [11] and OverTake, a 2020 driving title that has been the number one iOS game in countries including the United Kingdom, Australia and more. [12]

On 24 January 2022, Kwalee acquired Tictales. [13]

On 5 July 2024, Kwalee acquired a 3.58% minority share in Devolver Digital. [14]

On 10 October 2024, Microids announced a new third-party publishing division, with it being a collaboration with Kwalee; the first title it would publish will be Kwalee-acquired title The Precinct. [15]

Work culture

Kwalee offers an opportunity to all of its employees in the form of its 'Creative Wednesdays', where any member of staff is encouraged to pitch ideas for games on a weekly basis. [16] Some of these ideas are then made by Kwalee's internal development and launched to the world. Kwalee state that they "rely on them [the ideas] to power our internal development." [17]

Alongside 'Creative Wednesdays', Kwalee rewards all of their employees for the success of the games they create via a profit sharing scheme. [18] In just over one year, the scheme paid out over £1 million to its employees, with "a base amount that goes to everyone no matter the role, which is added to based on how closely the work of the individual has related to the success and profit of particular games". [19]

Since the success of Teacher Simulator, Kwalee donated 100% of the game's UK profits obtained during the first week of the school term to FareShare, in their efforts to tackle child food poverty in the United Kingdom. [20]

Published titles

Mobile games

YearNameGenrePlatform
2024Text Express: Word AdventurePuzzleiOS and Android
2023Landlord SimulatorSimulationiOS and Android
2022Perfect Coffee 3DSimulationiOS and Android
2022Airport SecuritySimulationiOS and Android
2020Line Up: Draw the CriminalSimulationiOS and Android
2020Hook and SmashArcadeiOS and Android
2020Sneak Thief 3DActioniOS and Android
2020Bake itSimulationiOS and Android
2020OverTakeRacingiOS and Android
2020TENS!PuzzleSteam and Nintendo Switch
2019Off the Rails 3DArcadeiOS and Android
2019Crazy ShoppingArcadeiOS and Android
2019Drop & SmashArcadeiOS and Android
2019Rocket Sky!ArcadeiOS and Android
2019Shootout 3DPuzzleiOS and Android
2019Jetpack JumpSportsiOS and Android
2019Draw ItArcadeiOS and Android
2018Go FishSportsiOS and Android
2018PLANK!ArcadeiOS and Android
2018Looper!MusiciOS and Android
2018Skiddy CarRacingiOS and Android
2018SPILLZPuzzleiOS and Android
2017TENS!PuzzleiOS and Android
2012Farm FightersArcadeiOS and Android
2012Flip the CatsPuzzleiOS and Android
2012Gobang SocialPuzzleiOS and Android

PC & Console games

YearGameDevelopersPlatform
2019The Coin GamedevotidSteam
2020TENS!Sock Monkey StudiosSteam and Nintendo Switch
2020Eternal HopeDoublehit GamesSteam
2022ScatheDAMAGE STATESteam, Epic Game Store
2023Die by the BladeTriple Hill Interactive, Toko Midori GamesSteam, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X & S, Nintendo Switch
2023WildmenderMuse GamesPlayStation 5, Xbox Series X & S, Steam
2024RobobeatInzanitySteam, Epic Game Store
2024The Spirit of the SamuraiDigital Minds s.l.Steam, Epic Game Store
2024The PrecinctFallen Tree GamesPlayStation 5, Xbox Series X & S, Steam, Epic Game Store
2024VoidwroughtPowerSnakeSteam, Epic Game Store, Nintendo Switch

Awards

In 2012, Kwalee was named in the Startups 100 awards as one of the UK's most innovative, inspiring and ground-breaking new companies. [21]

In 2019, its game Shootout 3D was awarded a TIGA award for 'Best Puzzle Game'. [22]

In App Annie's Top Publisher Awards 2021, awarded based on overall mobile downloads throughout 2020, Kwalee was named the UK's biggest mobile game publisher by downloads and the UK's third highest-ranked app publisher overall behind the BBC and the NHS.

In 2021, Kwalee was nominated in the Best Publisher [23] and Best Developer [24] categories at the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Game Awards.

In 2022, the company won the title as Publisher of the Year at both the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2022 [25] and the PocketGamer Mobile Game Awards 2022. [26]

It was also named in the Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2021, [27] 2022, [28] 2023, [29] and 2024. [30]

Related Research Articles

Miniclip is a Swiss mobile game publisher and former browser game website that was first launched on 30 March 2001. It was started by Robert Small and Tihan Presbie with a budget of £40,000. In 2008, Miniclip was valued at over £275 million. In 2018, the company gained over $400 million in revenue through its mobile gaming hit, 8 Ball Pool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EA Mobile</span> American video game developer

EA Mobile Inc. is an American video game development studio of the publisher Electronic Arts (EA) for mobile platforms.

Kongregate is an American web gaming portal and video game publisher. Its website features over 124,000 online games and 30+ mobile games available to the public. The company also publishes games for PC, mobile, and home consoles. It was purchased by GameStop Corporation in 2010 before being acquired by Modern Times Group MT AB in 2017.

Exient Limited is a video game developer and publisher based in the United Kingdom and Malta. Developing for handheld, mobile, console, VR and PC platforms, Exient grew a name for designing and developing popular series' games to portable systems. It is known for its ports of various games in the Madden NFL, FIFA, Need for Speed, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour series for Electronic Arts and for developing numerous titles in the Angry Birds series. The company was incorporated in 2000 and began operations in January 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spil Games</span> Dutch video game developer

Spil Games is a Dutch video game developer based in Hilversum. The company publishes free-to-play games for Android and iOS devices, as well as for the Facebook Platform.

<i>Pocket Gamer</i> Website and magazine focused on mobile, portable, and handheld video games

Pocket Gamer is a video game website and former print magazine that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. It was launched in 2005 by Steel Media Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rovio Entertainment</span> Finnish video game developer

Rovio Entertainment Oyj is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Founded in 2003 by Helsinki University of Technology students Niklas Hed, Jarno Väkeväinen and Kim Dikert, the company is best known for the Angry Birds franchise. The company currently operates studios in Barcelona, Toronto, Montreal, Espoo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. The company's success has helped to establish Finland as a leading player in the mobile game industry and has helped to create a thriving ecosystem for game development in the country. In August 2023, Sega bought Rovio for US$776 million and was made a subsidiary of the Sega Europe division.

Team17 Group plc is a British video game developer and publisher based in Wakefield, England. The venture was created in December 1990 through the merger of British publisher 17-Bit Software and Swedish developer Team 7. At the time, the two companies consisted of and were led by Michael Robinson, Martyn Brown and Debbie Bestwick, and Andreas Tadic, Rico Holmes and Peter Tuleby, respectively. Bestwick later became Team17's chief executive officer until 1 January 2024. After their first game, Full Contact (1991) for the Amiga, the studio followed up with multiple number-one releases on that platform and saw major success with Andy Davidson's Worms in 1995, the resulting franchise of which still remains as the company's primary development output, having developed over 20 entries in it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Darling (businessman)</span> British video game developer and entrepreneur (born 1966)

David Darling is a British video game developer and entrepreneur, known for co-founding Codemasters, with his brother Richard Darling, and for being involved in a long succession of top ten games over more than 30 years. He is now founder and CEO of smartphone app developer and publisher Kwalee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scopely</span> American entertainment company

Scopely, Inc. is an American interactive entertainment company and mobile-first video game developer and publisher. The company is headquartered in Culver City, California, with offices across the US, EMEA and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plarium</span> Video game software company

Plarium Global Ltd. is a video game developer, publisher and subsidiary of the Australian gambling machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure. It is known for creating mobile, desktop and browser games in various genres including MMO, RPG, action, strategy, and casual.

FunPlus is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Switzerland, with operations in China, Singapore and Spain. The company has developed the following mobile games: State of Survival, Frost & Flame: King of Avalon, Guns of Glory: Lost Island, Stormshot: Isle of Adventure and Sea of Conquest: Pirate War.

Playrix Holding Ltd., also known as Playrix Entertainment and Playrix Games, is a developer of free-to-play mobile games behind titles such as Township, Fishdom, Homescapes, and Gardenscapes. The company was founded in 2004 by Dmitry Bukhman and Igor Bukhman is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardlight</span> British mobile game developer owned by Sega

Hardlight is a British video game developer founded by Sega and based in Leamington Spa, England. Revealed in January 2012, it is focused on mobile games for smartphones and became a part of Sega Europe in 2019.

Voodoo SAS is a French developer and publisher of mobile apps and games based in Paris. The company was founded in 2013 by Alexandre Yazdi and Laurent Ritter. Voodoo's games began predominantly as free-to-play "hyper-casual games", which they helped popularize. Since then, the company has shifted to developing and publishing casual games and apps. Voodoo’s games and apps have surpassed 7 billion downloads as of 2024. The company has been criticised for cloning other games.

Krafton Inc. is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang-gu, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and its subsidiaries. The company has published several notable video game titles including TERA, PUBG: Battlegrounds, New State Mobile,The Callisto Protocol and Moonbreaker. According to Forbes, Chang has a net worth of $2.9 billion and is one of the seven gaming billionaires in South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playtika</span> Gaming company

Playtika Holding Corp. is an Israeli digital entertainment company specializing in the development and publication of mobile games. In 2021, Playtika had over 35 million monthly active users.

Tilting Point is a free-to-play (F2P) games publisher founded in 2012. In the years since, Tilting Point has grown to include over 200 staff members and office locations in New York, Boston, Barcelona, Kyiv, Seoul, and San Diego. Further partnerships with development studios and publishers exist in over a dozen countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumo Group</span> British video game holding company

Sumo Group Limited is a British video game holding company based in Sheffield. It was formed in December 2017 as the parent company for Sumo Digital and Atomhawk, followed by its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange later that month. Another of Sumo Group's subsidiaries is Secret Mode, a publisher established in March 2021. After purchasing a minority stake in Sumo Group in November 2019, Tencent wholly acquired the company in January 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CrazyGames</span> Belgian gaming platform

CrazyGames is a Belgium-based, globally operating game website specializing in online games that can be played in-browser. The platform has about 4,500 games available across a variety of genres and categories, ranging from action to puzzle and sports games, as well as solo or multiplayer games.

References

  1. ↑ "Leamington Festival Celebrates the Making of Silicon Spa". Warwickshire County Council. 14 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "Kwalee's David Darling on the new challenge of making games and apps for iOS | interview". PocketGamer.biz. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  3. ↑ Kumar, Nitesh (19 May 2020). "Mobile games developer Kwalee to open first overseas studio in India". TechRadar. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  4. ↑ "Kwalee to open Chinese office". GamesIndustry.biz. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "Kwalee opens new office in Portugal". European Gaming. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  6. ↑ Hughes, Ian (20 February 2020). "Million pound plus bonus payout for staff at Leamington firm". Leamington Observer.
  7. ↑ Crookes, David (26 August 2014). "Games Developers Jason Falcus and David Darling to Reunite at Kwalee". The Independent.
  8. ↑ Barton, Seth (29 January 2021). "Kwalee hires industry veteran Max Everingham from Team17 to lead console and PC publishing drive". MCV. ISSN   1469-4832 . Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Story of the Kwalee Brand | blog". Kwalee.com. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  10. ↑ Clayton, Natalie; Writer, Staff (7 June 2019). ""Hyper-casual isn't a phase, it's a culture shock for the whole mobile industry"". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  11. ↑ "Rocket Sky! -" . Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  12. ↑ "OverTake -" . Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "Kwalee acquires Tictales -". 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  14. ↑ McEvoy, Sophie (5 July 2024). "Kwalee makes minority investment in Devolver Digital". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  15. ↑ Blake, Vikki (10 October 2024). "Microids launches new third-party publishing division with Kwalee collaboration". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  16. ↑ "One in a Million: Mobile Gaming Company Pays Out Over £1 Million (GBP) in Staff Bonuses in Just Over a Year". Gamasutra. 19 February 2020.
  17. ↑ Blake, Vikki (19 February 2020). "Kwalee has allocated £1m in staff bonuses this year". MCV Develop.
  18. ↑ Pratt, Louron (25 February 2020). "Kwalee's profit sharing scheme has paid £1 million to 73 staff since 2018". Employee Benefits.
  19. ↑ Taylor, Haydn (27 February 2020). "Kwalee and the power of profit sharing". Gamesindustry.biz.
  20. ↑ "UK Game Developer Kwalee Pledging Profits From Hit Title 'Teacher Simulator' to Help Tackle Child Food Poverty". press.kwalee.com. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  21. ↑ "Startups 100 2012 - Kwalee". 8 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "TIGA 2019 Winners". TIGA. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019.
  23. ↑ Staff, PocketGamer biz (8 July 2021). "The Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2021 finalists". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  24. ↑ Staff, PocketGamer biz (8 July 2021). "The Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2021 finalists". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  25. ↑ "Kwalee wins Publisher of the Year award at TIGA 2022 Game Industry awards". 11 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  26. ↑ "The Winners of 2022". Mobile Games Awards. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  27. ↑ Staff, PocketGamer biz (6 September 2021). "The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2021". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  28. ↑ "The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2022". www.pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  29. ↑ "The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2023". www.pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  30. ↑ "The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2024". www.pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.