Scopely has both internal game development studios as well as partners with external development studios to create free-to-play games.[4][5] Scopely also partners with intellectual property holders to create video games based on popular entertainment brands.[6]
History
Scopely was founded in 2011 in Los Angeles, California, by Walter Driver, Ankur Bulsara, Eric Futoran and Eytan Elbaz.[7][8] Previously, Elbaz co-founded Applied Semantics, which was acquired by Google in 2003, and Bulsara was a software developer at MySpace.[8]
In 2014, former Disney Interactive and Electronic Arts executive Javier Ferreira joined Scopely.[9] Former Disney Interactive executive Tim O'Brien joined in 2014 as chief revenue officer.[10]
In August 2015, Scopely ranked #9 on Inc.'s List of the 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America, and #1 in the US.[11]
In October 2017, the company announced it was opening an office in Barcelona.[12]
In May 2019, the company acquired Dublin-based DIGIT game studios, its collaborator on the mobile 4x strategy game Star Trek Fleet Command.[13]
In June 2019, the company shared it had surpassed $1 billion in lifetime revenues.[14]
In January 2020, the company purchased FoxNext Games Los Angeles and its RPG game MARVEL Strike Force, along with Cold Iron Studios, from The Walt Disney Company for an undisclosed amount.[15] Scopely later sold Cold Iron Studios to Daybreak Game Company.[16]
In April 2020, Scopely also acquired PierPlay game studio, its collaborator on the mobile word game Scrabble GO.[17]
In July 2021, Scopely invested in three games studios in Europe to co-create games and invest in developers.[18]
In October 2021, Scopely acquired Game Show Network's online gaming division (GSN Games) from Sony in a $1 billion cash and stock deal. Sony Pictures took a minority stake in the company as a result.[19][20]
Savvy Games Group announced its intent to acquire Scopely, Inc for $4.9 billion on April 5, 2023.[21][22] The acquisition was completed on July 13, 2023.[23] Scopely remains an independently-operated company, headquartered in Culver City, California, part of the Savvy portfolio.[24][25]
In June 2023, Scopely acquired Scotland-based Tag Games studio.[26]
In February 2024, Scopely ended its publishing partnership with Global Worldwide game studio on the title Kingdom Maker and redeployed the Scopely team supporting the project to other games [27].
In May 2024, Scopely was recognized by Time Magazine on their annual TIME100 list recognizing the "100 Most Influential Companies in the World."[28]
In January 2025, Scopely contributed to the FireAid Benefit Concert, produced by Irving Azoff, as a presenting sponsor to help wildfire relief efforts in the company's founding city of Los Angeles. Fundraising efforts from the Benefit raised more than $100 million.[29]
In January 2012, Scopely launched its first free-to-play mobile game Dice With Buddies,[30] followed that year by Jewels Wwith Buddies[31] and Bubble Galaxy With Buddies,[32] which debuted as the #1 free app in the App Store.[33] In April 2013, Scopely launched Mini Golf MatchUp, a head-to-head game developed with New Zealand-based studio Rocket Jump.[4][34] The game was #1 for free apps in the App Store in 49 countries[4] and the #1 app on both the iPhone and the iPad in the U.S.[35] In September 2013, Scopely launched Wordly, a spelling game that reached #1 on the top free apps chart in the App Store, and was the first game with single-player mode developed by Scopely.[36] In November 2013, the company launched the Skee-ball game Skee-ball Arcade, which reached #1 overall in the App Store.[37] In June 2014, Scopely launched Slots Vacation.[37] In July 2014, Scopely acquired Space Inch's Disco Bees.[38]
In April 2015, Scopely partnered with Hasbro to launch the only officially licensed Yahtzee game, Yahtzee With Buddies, on iOS, Android and the Apple Watch.[39] The game saw more than 1 million downloads in its first four days.[40][41] In 2016, Scopely released Dice With Ellen, a Yahtzee-style dice game with Ellen DeGeneres.[42]
In May 2015, Scopely signed a multi-year partnership deal with Ireland's DIGIT games studios.[43] The collaboration led to the acquisition of Kings of the Realm, a fantasy strategy MMO game.[44]
In August 2015, Scopely partnered with The Walking Dead series creator Robert Kirkman and Skybound Entertainment to create The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, the first free-to-play mobile game based on the graphic novels. The game saw 4 million downloads in its first week, was a Top 25 Grossing Game in 17 countries, and became the 6th consecutive #1 game released by Scopely.[41][45]
In 2016, the company partnered with Sony Pictures TV to launch Wheel of Fortune: Free Play, based on the television game show.[46]
Scopely announced a partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2017 and launched the match-3 game WWE Champions.[47] It won a Webby Award for People's Voice in the sports games category.[48]
As of 2018, 40 million people have installed Walking Dead: Road to Survival since its release.[49]
In 2018, Scopely had four top-grossing games: WWE Champions, The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, Wheel of Fortune: Free Play, and Yahtzee With Buddies.[50]
In November 2018, Scopely launched Star Trek Fleet Command, partnering with CBS Interactive and DIGIT Game Studios.[51] In December 2018, Scopely launched Looney Tunes World of Mayhem, a multi-player role-playing game featuring Looney Tunes characters licensed from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, developed in partnership with Aquiris Game Studio.[5][52] The game was downloaded more than one million times on its launch day.[53]
In 2020, the company launched Scrabble GO.[55] In June 2020, it was announced that the game was the "best launch ever for a mobile word game."[56]
In 2022, the company acquired the mobile party battle royale game Stumble Guys from Kitka Games.[57]
In April 2023, Scopely launched Monopoly Go!.[58]MONOPOLY GO! became the biggest mobile game of 2023, generating $1 billion in revenue.[59] The game is now the biggest mobile game launch of all time.[60]
Funding
In 2013, Scopely raised a seed round of $8.5 million,[31] led by Anthem Venture Partners, with participation from The Chernin Group, Greycroft Venture Partners, and New Enterprise Associates.[61] In 2014, Scopely raised a $35 million Series A funding round, led by Evolution Media.[37][62] In 2016, Scopely raised $55 million in Series B funding.[47] In 2017, the company announced $60 million in Series C funding, led by Revolution Growth,[8] and then raised an additional $100 million from Greenspring Associates in 2018.[50]
In 2019, the company announced $200 million in Series D financing, valuing the company at $1.7 billion.[63] In March 2020, the company announced another $200 million in Series D financing, valuing the company at $1.9 billion.[64]
In October 2020, Scopely announced $340 million in Series E financing, valuing the company at $3.3 billion.[65]
As of October 2021, Scopely was valued at $5.4 billion.[66]
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.
