User:Danilo Two/Project pages/Jam City (company) History draft

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History

Jam City launched in 2010 when Austin Ventures and the founders of Chris DeWolfe's business, Platform G, initially invested $28 million.[1] Joining DeWolfe were fellow Myspace co-founders Colin Digiaro and Aber Whitcomb, and former 20th Century Fox executive Josh Yguado.[2][3] Platform G acquired MindJolt, a social gaming platform founded by Richard Fields, and took its name.[4] Fields remained with the company to lead strategy.[4] The company acquired Social Gaming Network (or SGN) and Hallpass Media, which added mobile games to the company's portfolio.[5][6] MindJolt renamed as SGN in March 2012.[7][8] In June 2013, SGN acquired Mob Science, a developer of social games and known for Legends: Rise of a Hero.[9] The company launched bubble shooter Panda Pop in 2013, which would later become one of the high-grossing mobile games.[10][11] Match-3 puzzle game Cookie Jam launched in 2014.[12] Cookie Jam was named Facebook's game of the year with more than 100 million downloads and 5 million active players at the time.[13][14] Cookie Jam was also among the 20 highest-grossing mobile games for Google Play and Apple's App Store.[15]

In the wake of Cookie Jam's success, South Korean mobile game company Netmarble invested $130 million in July 2015, becoming SGN's largest shareholder; this was one of the largest investments in mobile gaming since 2013.[16][17] By the time of Netmarble's investment, SGN games were downloaded 500 million times.[18]

Following Netmarble's investment, SGN bought the developers Fat Rascal Games and Kiwi Inc. in late 2015, followed by TinyCo in July 2016. The latter acquisition raised SGN's staff count from 125 to 400.[19] With the TinyCo acquisition, SGN added 125 employees to its ranks, bringing its total number to about 400.[19][20] Mobile entertainment games that TinyCo had created included Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff and Marvel Avengers Academy.[21]

The company rebranded as Jam City in September 2016,[8] the same year Genies & Gems, a match-3 puzzle game, launched.[22]

On April 25, 2018, Jam City released Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, a mobile game based on J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World franchise.[23] Within its first day, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was ranked No. 1 on the App Store's free-to-play category and reached No. 10 on the list of top-grossing games across categories.[24] It was the fastest of Jam City's games to reach $100 million in revenue,[25] generating $110 million in its first year.[26] By October 2019, it had been downloaded 54.6 million times.[27] Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was awarded Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game during the 2018 Dragon Awards.[28] The game was nominated for Best Breakthrough Game during the 2019 Google Play Awards.[29][30]

Jam City bought the intellectual property, management, and development team of Bingo Pop from Uken Games in November 2018, expanding geographically into Toronto, Canada.[31][32][33] Also in 2018, Jam City and Disney reached a multi-year deal for Jam City to develop licensed games based on stories and characters from Disney and Pixar.[34] As part of that deal, Jam City took over the game Disney Emoji Blitz.[34] Jam City's first new game under its deal with Disney was Frozen Adventures based on the Frozen and Frozen 2 films, which launched the next year.[34][35]

Jam City announced in January 2019 that it raised $145 million in funding from JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and others to support Jam City’s acquisitions and global growth initiatives.[36][37] Jam City acquired Berlin-based studio 231 Play in April.[38] DeWolfe told GamesBeat that the acquisition of studios in Toronto and Berlin allowed Jam City to expand into more game genres, such as solitaire, mahjong, and bingo.[39] According to analytics provider Sensor Tower, solitaire, mahjong, and bingo games ranked among Jam City's top games, as of February 2021.[40]

By mid-2020, Jam City's valuation was estimated at greater than $2 billion.[41]

References

  1. ^ Spangler, Todd (July 23, 2015). "Mobile-Game Studio SGN Lands $130 Million from Korea's Netmarble". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  2. ^ Graham, Jefferson (March 22, 2017). "Jam City seeks another hit with more Family Guy, plans for IPO". USA Today. Tysons Corner, VA. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  3. ^ Chaykowski, Kathleen (June 12, 2017). "Former MySpace CEO Makes A Comeback As A Mobile Gaming Hitmaker". Forbes. New York, NY. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Arrington, Michael (3 March 2010). "Chris DeWolfe Makes His Move – Raises Big Round, Acquires Gaming Platform MindJolt". TechCrunch. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  5. ^ Rusli, Evelyn M. (18 April 2011). "A Myspace Founder Builds Again, Buying Game Companies". New York Times Dealbook. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  6. ^ Kozlowski, Lori (12 June 2013). "The Science of Social Games". Forbes. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  7. ^ Ha, Anthony (2 March 2012). "MySpace Co-Founder Chris DeWolfe Explains SGN's New Name, Multi-Platform Plans". TechCrunch. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  8. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (22 September 2016). "SGN Changes Name to Jam City, Acquires Rights to Make 'Peanuts' Mobile Game". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  9. ^ M, Will (17 June 2013). "Social Gaming Network's Acquisition Of Mob Science Continues Trend Away From Facebook-Only Social Games". AdWeek: Social Times. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  10. ^ Cowley, Ric (August 25, 2017). "Jam City's Panda Pop clears 100 million downloads in under four years". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  11. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (August 24, 2017). "Panda Pop passes 100 million users as Jam City readies for an IPO". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  12. ^ Saltzman, Marc (March 24, 2014). "'Cookie Jam': A tasty puzzle game with new twists". USA Today. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Takahashi, Dean (May 24, 2017). "Jam City's Cookie Jam hits 100 million downloads as Cookie Jam Blast debuts". VentureBeat. San Francisco, CA. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  14. ^ Dave, Paresh (December 16, 2014). "Mobile game 'Cookie Jam' latest hit being exported to China". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Zipkin, Nina (July 23, 2015). "Maker of 'Cookie Jam' Lands $130 Million Investment From Korea's Top Gaming Giant". Entrepreneur (magazine). Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  16. ^ Zimmerman, Eilene (23 July 2015). "Netmarble Takes Stake in SGN, Extending Asia's Reach Into U.S. Mobile Games". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  17. ^ Ungerleider, Neal (23 July 2015). "Why This Mobile Game Company Raised $130 Million". Fast Company. Mansueto Ventures, LLC. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  18. ^ Spangler, Todd (July 23, 2015). "Mobile-Game Studio SGN Lands $130 Million from Korea's Netmarble". Variety (magazine). Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Ellingson, Annlee (6 July 2016). "SGN buys startup behind Marvel, 'Family Guy' mobile games". Biz Journals. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  20. ^ Spangler, Todd (6 July 2016). "SGN Buys TinyCo, Maker of 'Marvel Avengers Academy' Mobile Game". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  21. ^ Peterson, Steve (7 July 2016). "SGN Talks About Acquiring TinyCo, Future Of Mobile Games Industry". A List Daily. Ayzenberg. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  22. ^ "How Jam City CEO Chris DeWolfe sees the freakin' mobile game world". VentureBeat. April 25, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  23. ^ Chan, Stephanie (April 26, 2018). "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery tops Apple App Store charts a day after launch". VentureBeat. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  24. ^ Chan, Stephanie (April 26, 2018). "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery tops Apple App Store charts a day after launch". GamesBeat. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  25. ^ Takahashi, Dean (January 16, 2019). "Harry Potter mobile game maker Jam City raises $145 million". GamesBeat. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  26. ^ Taylor, Haydn (March 14, 2019). "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery grosses $110m in first year". Gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  27. ^ Dealessandri, Marie (October 10, 2019). "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery reaches $150m in revenue". Gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  28. ^ "Jam City". jamcity.com.
  29. ^ "2019 Google Play Awards nominees announced ahead of Google I/O". Android Authority. 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  30. ^ Kerr, Chris. "Marvel Strike Force and Shadowgun Legends honored at 2019 Google Play Awards". gamasutra.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  31. ^ Takahashi, Dean (November 28, 2018). "Jam City acquires Bingo Pop maker from Uken". VentureBeat. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  32. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (November 28, 2018). "Jam City is setting up a Toronto shop by buying Bingo Pop from Uken Games". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  33. ^ Amore, Samson (November 28, 2018). "Jam City Acquires Bingo Pop Mobile Game". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  34. ^ a b c Taylor, Haydn (November 14, 2018). "Jam City secures multi-year deal with Disney". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  35. ^ Beresford, Trilby (August 23, 2019). "Jam City, Disney Unveil First Look at 'Frozen Adventures' Mobile Game". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  36. ^ Takahashi, Dean (January 16, 2019). "Harry Potter mobile game maker Jam City raises $145 million". VentureBeat. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  37. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (January 16, 2019). "Consolidation is coming to gaming, and Jam City raises $145 million to capitalize on it". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  38. ^ Chapple, Craig (April 5, 2019). "Jam City acquires Berlin studio 231 Play". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  39. ^ Takahashi, Dean (November 14, 2019). "Chris DeWolfe interview: Jam City bets on Disney Frozen 2 collaboration". GamesBeat. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  40. ^ "Jam City, Inc". Sensor Tower. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  41. ^ Cherney, Max A. (June 22, 2020). "Mergers Are Heating Up in the Videogame World. EA and Activision Have Lots of Spending Money". Barron's. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
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