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| website = {{URL|https://www.playrix.com}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.playrix.com}}
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'''Playrix Holding Ltd.''', also known as '''Playrix Entertainment''', is an international developer of [[free-to-play]] mobile games from [[Russia]] headquartered in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2019/04/19/v-rossii-nashi-igry-v-tope-no-brend-ne-znaet-pochti-nikto |title=“In Russia, our games are at the top. But almost nobody knows the brand.” Two brothers from Vologda made Playrix and entered the Bloomberg list of billionaires. We took their first big interview |last=Merzlikin |first=Pavel |date=2019-04-19 |publisher=[[Meduza]] |language=ru |access-date=2019-07-15}}</ref> The company has 18 offices around Russia, Ireland, [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], and [[Serbia]]. Since 2018, Playrix has over 2,000 employees<ref name="Forbes" /> working from its offices or remotely.<ref name="bloomberg.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-17/billionaire-brothers-crushing-it-with-gaming-powerhouse-playrix |url-access=limited |title=Russian Gamer Brothers Are the Newest Hidden Billionaires |last1=Khrennikov |first1=Ilya |last2=Sazonov |first2=Alexander |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=2019-04-17 |access-date=2019-07-12}}</ref>
'''Playrix Holding Ltd.''', also known as '''Playrix Entertainment''' and '''Playrix Games''', is an international developer of [[free-to-play]] mobile games from [[Russia]] headquartered in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2019/04/19/v-rossii-nashi-igry-v-tope-no-brend-ne-znaet-pochti-nikto |title=“In Russia, our games are at the top. But almost nobody knows the brand.” Two brothers from Vologda made Playrix and entered the Bloomberg list of billionaires. We took their first big interview |last=Merzlikin |first=Pavel |date=2019-04-19 |publisher=[[Meduza]] |language=ru |access-date=2019-07-15}}</ref> The company has 18 offices around Russia, Ireland, [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], and [[Serbia]]. Since 2018, Playrix has over 2,000 employees<ref name="Forbes" /> working from its offices or remotely.<ref name="bloomberg.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-17/billionaire-brothers-crushing-it-with-gaming-powerhouse-playrix |url-access=limited |title=Russian Gamer Brothers Are the Newest Hidden Billionaires |last1=Khrennikov |first1=Ilya |last2=Sazonov |first2=Alexander |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=2019-04-17 |access-date=2019-07-12}}</ref>


== History ==
== History ==

Revision as of 22:40, 26 August 2020

Playrix Holding Ltd.
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo game industry
Founded2004; 20 years ago (2004) in Vologda, Russia
Founders
  • Dmitry Bukhman
  • Igor Bukhman
Headquarters
Dublin
,
Ireland
Number of employees
over 2000 (2018)[1]
Websitewww.playrix.com

Playrix Holding Ltd., also known as Playrix Entertainment and Playrix Games, is an international developer of free-to-play mobile games from Russia headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.[2] The company has 18 offices around Russia, Ireland, Ukraine, Belarus, and Serbia. Since 2018, Playrix has over 2,000 employees[1] working from its offices or remotely.[3]

History

The company was founded by Dmitry and Igor Bukhman in 2004 in Vologda, Russia.[3] Playrix originally specialized in developing casual computer games.

Since 2011,[4] the company has been developing free-to-play games for smartphones and tablets.

In 2013 Playrix launched Township, its first free-to-play mobile game in the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It later became available on Google Play,[5] the Amazon Appstore,[6] the Mac App Store,[7][8] and the Windows Phone Store.[9] The game is a combination of city-building and farming.

In April 2015, the company announced[10] the launch of its second free-to-play mobile project. Fishdom: Deep Dive,[11] a match-3 puzzle game, was released worldwide in the App Store in August 2015.[12]

In August 2016, Playrix released another match-3 game — Gardenscapes.[13]

In September 2016, the company became the highest grossing mobile game developer in the CIS and Baltic states region according to App Annie.[14] In the second quarter, Playrix ranked in the Top 20 biggest mobile game developers in the world.[15]

In the summer of 2017, the company launched Homescapes — a Gardenscapes spin-off that is also a match-3 game.[16]

In August 2017, the company became the leading mobile game publisher in Europe[17] based on revenue from Google Play and the App Store. In 2018 Playrix became the 9th highest grossing game publisher globally on iOS and Android.[18][19]

In April 2019, Igor and Dmitry Bukhman made it onto the Bloomberg billionaire index. Their net worth is $1.4 billion each.[3]

In the fall of 2019, Playrix launched a free-to-play game called Wildscapes, a match-3 game similar to their previous titles Homescapes and Gardenscapes.

Playrix acquired Armenian mobile game developer Plexonic for an unknown sum in March of 2020,[20] and later purchased Croatia-based publisher and developer Cateia Games, choosing to rebrand the studio as Playrix Croatia and retaining its 40 staff members.[21]

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, Playrix reported an increase in downloads and profits. According to co-founder Igor Bukhman, from mid-March through mid-May, 165 million new players were recorded downloading Playrix games, double the amount of downloads just two months prior to the pandemic. Additionally, the company claimed a record high revenue from April to June of 2020, seeing a 40% increase in profits, and holding at nearly $1 billion through the first half of 2020.[22] In response to the pandemic, in April 2020, Playrix paid each of their 2,100 employees an additional one-off payment of $650 to aid in financial support.[23]

Games

Year Title Microsoft Store macOS Facebook Platform Android iOS Windows Phone Nintendo DS
2008 Fishdom Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
2012 Township Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
2016 Gardenscapes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
2017 Homescapes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
2019 Wildscapes[24] No Yes No Yes Yes No No
2020 Manor Matters[25] No No No Yes Yes No No

Awards

  • In 2014, Township was named one of the best Mac games of the year according to Apple.[26]
  • By the end of 2016, Fishdom was on the Top Trending list according to Google Play.[27]
  • In 2016, Gardenscapes was listed as one of the best apps in the Best Games category on iPad Russia in the App Store[28] and in the Most Irresistible category on Google Play.[11]
  • In 2016, Gardenscapes was named Game of the Year by Facebook.[29]
  • In 2018, Gardenscapes won in the Best Game Management & Live Ops category at the Mobile Games Awards.[30]

Criticism

Playrix has been criticised for its use of deceptive or false advertisements on mobile advertisement platforms such as AdMob.[31] Advertisements for many of their games like Fishdom, Gardenscapes, and Homescapes display gameplay that does not represent the actual gameplay of the product in question.[32][33] For example, Homescapes advertisements represent the gameplay as repairing a home by selecting the correct tool, while in reality, it is a match-3 game.[34]

References

  1. ^ a b Karpova, Anastasia (2020-03-19). "How the Bukhman brothers built one of the largest gaming companies in the world - Playrix - and became billionaires" (in Russian). Forbes. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  2. ^ Merzlikin, Pavel (2019-04-19). ""In Russia, our games are at the top. But almost nobody knows the brand." Two brothers from Vologda made Playrix and entered the Bloomberg list of billionaires. We took their first big interview" (in Russian). Meduza. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  3. ^ a b c Khrennikov, Ilya; Sazonov, Alexander (2019-04-17). "Russian Gamer Brothers Are the Newest Hidden Billionaires". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  4. ^ "Company - Playrix". www.playrix.com. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  5. ^ "Township - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  6. ^ "Township". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  7. ^ "Township: Farm & City Building". App Store. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  8. ^ "Township: Farm & City Building". Mac App Store (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  9. ^ "Township — Microsoft Store". Microsoft Store (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  10. ^ "Playrix: "Fishdom: Deep Dive была готова почти 2 года назад"". app2top.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  11. ^ a b Fishdom: Deep Dive release
  12. ^ "Fishdom and Gardenscapes have been featured in Apple's and Google's Best of 2016 lists! :)". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  13. ^ "Playrix анонсировала новую три-в-ряд — Gardenscapes". app2top.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  14. ^ "Game of The Year". Facebook. 21 December 2016.
  15. ^ "Russia, CIS and Baltic Publishers Outpace the Global Gaming Market". App Annie Content. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  16. ^ "Gardenscapes developer Playrix soft-launches sequel Homescapes". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  17. ^ Михайлова, Лера (2017-10-13). "Российская Playrix возглавила рейтинг европейских издателей игр по объему доходов в августе 2017 года". vc.ru. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  18. ^ "App Annie's Top 52 Publishers of 2018 | App Annie Blog". App Annie Content. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  19. ^ "По итогам 2018 года Playrix вошла в десятку самых зарабатывающих мобильных компаний мира". app2top.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  20. ^ Kerr, Chris. "Playrix acquires Armenian casual mobile game developer Plexonic". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  21. ^ "GameStop Posts USD$165m Loss; Playrix Acquires Cateia Games". TheGamingEconomy.com. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  22. ^ "Russian mobile game developer makes record profits during lockdowns". Reuters. 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  23. ^ Partleton, Kayleigh; Writer, Staff. "Playrix is giving its staff a $650 one-off payment to help alleviate coronavirus stress". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  24. ^ "Wildscapes". Playrix. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  25. ^ "Manor Matters". Playrix. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  26. ^ "Township for Windows Phone".
  27. ^ "Fishdom". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  28. ^ Playrix анонсировала новую три-в-ряд - Gardenscapes
  29. ^ App Store Best of 2016
  30. ^ Chapple, Craig; Editor, Senior. "First ever Mobile Games Awards winners revealed". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2019-07-12. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ "Playrix false advertising breaks Google Developer Policies. What can be done about it? - Google Play Community". support.google.com. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  32. ^ Nelson, Noah (20 March 2019). "Why We're Stuck With Fake Game Ads: They Make Big Bucks". YR Media. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  33. ^ "Why Mobile Games Use Fake Ads? One more point". StoreMaven. 24 October 2019.
  34. ^ "False advertising in mobile games overview". Blog - Apptica. 9 August 2019.
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