Supercell made $ 1.4 billion of its games last year

Supercell made $ 1.4 billion of its games last year

Supercell, the creator of the game "Clash of Clans", has risen in a few years on the podium of the largest publishers in the world. With his youngest, "Clash Royale", he is changing his dimension.

The best way to make money is not to think about money. That's what Ilkka Paananen, creator of game publisher Supercell, likes to repeat. The most important thing to succeed (at least in the video game business) is fun. "Companies that think of money first end up failing," he told Forbes in 2013. And yet, this 38-year-old Finn, who worked in finance before embarking on video games in the early 2000s, gained considerable amounts of money. And actually earn a lot more from his company.

Each employee generates an average of € 11.7 million

In just 6 years, the publisher has risen to the roof of the world of video games. In 2015, Supercell generated more than 2.1 billion euros in revenue, compared to 672 million in 2013. For a huge operating profit of 845 million euros. It must be said that the company has only 180 employees. Each of them generates an average of 11.7 million euros, 6 times more than Apple employees! Hard numbers believable.

And the worst thing about all this is that Supercell games are free. And they are not overloaded with unsightly banner ads. The publisher only sells virtual money which then allows the player to buy skills or new characters in the game. This is the model of "freemium", an art in which Supercell is a master. You can not open this chest full of powerful weapons? No problem, a "small" payment of 5 or 10 euros will allow you to obtain this precious sesame. "Clash of Clans", the star game of the Finnish publisher, and garners nearly $ 1.6 million per day with these small purchases. For comparison, "Candy Crush Saga" is "only" $ 900,000 a day.

After "Clash of Clans", "Boom Beach"

Except that unlike King, the creator of Candy Crush recently bought by Activision, Supercell multiplies the successes. If the British publisher of the candy game is looking for a new martingale, the Finnish him, chained success as the Beatles chained the tubes. After the "Clash of Clans" war game that continues, 4 years after its release, to be part of the most downloaded apps in the world, Supercell launched "Boom Beach" in 2014 when it comes to storming he is. If the universe is different, it is again a very simple access strategy and an addictive game as the Finnish publisher knows. "These games are a marvel of balance," explains Emmanuel Martin, the delegate of the Syndicat des Edifiers de Loisirs interactif (Sell) They are like a thriller that we do not want to let go or a movie we want to see at all costs until the end."

And with the youngest, "Clash Royale", Supercell probably has a new blockbuster. The game, released earlier this year, could even be even stronger than "Clash of Clans". With no advertising and just word of mouth, the game that skilfully combines strategy and card collection squat already head of the app stores in the United States, Canada, Germany and Brazil. He has already made $ 110 million in revenue in March alone according to Newzoo (80 million for the publisher, 30 for Apple and Google) and would be well to exceed the billion in 2016. Especially as it is not yet released in China, a country fond of Finnish titles. And according to Newzoo, the game does not cannibalize "Clash of Clans", which would continue to garner solid revenue.

Softbank rubs his hands

The small Helsinki-based company with only 4 offices worldwide (Tokyo, Beijing, San Francisco and Seoul) could therefore exceed 3 billion euros of turnover this year, roughly equivalent to of Electronic Arts, the giant American publisher of Fifa and Sims. And if Ilkka Paananen can give advice to earn money, it's Softbank who rubs his hands. The Japanese telecom company was upset by buying 51% of the Finnish publisher in 2013 (it has since risen to 73%) for $ 2.1 billion.

Activision paid 3 times more to offer King, the daddy of "Candy Crush" in 2015. A company with similar incomes but which, unlike Supercell, remains very dependent on a single game. never a good sign. The case of Rovio, the other Finnish nugget behind 'Angry Birds', is symptomatic.The publisher never repeated the success of his first attempt and had to part with 39% of his after a 10% drop in sales. "Supercell's competitors have managed to launch brands but are a little bit captive today,