Finland-based gaming company Supercell has increased its stake in UK-based mobile games developer Space Ape Games from 75% to 100%. The deal is expected to close in Spring 2025.
Supercell has been the majority owner of Space Ape since 2017, progressively increasing its stake over the years:
— In May’17, Supercell acquired a 62% stake in Space Ape for $55.8m, valuing the company at $90m.
— In Jul’22, Supercell raised its stake to 75% for an additional $37m and extended a $50m credit line to Space Ape, bringing the total investment to $189m.
The initial acquisition occurred following the success of Space Ape’s TRANSFORMERS: Earth Wars and shortly before the release of Fastlane: Road to Revenge, a racing shoot-em-up launched in May 2017. The second deal coincided with the development of Chrome Valley Customs — a match-3 title that has since become Space Ape’s most successful game.
But why is Supercell making this final move for complete ownership now? After providing a brief overview of the companies at the time of the deal, we’ll delve into that question.
Space Ape and Supercell in 2024
Founded in 2012 and based in London, Space Ape Games is a mobile gaming studio with over 100 team members. According to AppMagic, Space Ape has made over $280m of lifetime IAP Net Revenue. Considering the revenue from ads, this number should be much higher. The studio has notably impacted the mobile gaming market with successful titles like Beatstar and Chrome Valley Customs.
According to AppMagic, Beatstar was the top-grossing mobile rhythm game in Tier-1 Western countries for over two years. Meanwhile, Chrome Valley Customs introduced a unique car-renovating meta targeting a male audience, which is rare for the traditionally female-oriented match-3 genre. This innovative approach has influenced other developers to create male-focused match-3 games, with notable examples including Forza Customs and Truck Star.
After Supercell’s acquisition, Space Ape collaborated closely with its parent company. For example, it contributed to Hay Day and developed Boom Beach Frontlines, a game based on Supercell’s Boom Beach IP. However, the game never left its soft launch phase and was shut down due to underperformance.
While we don’t know much about Space Ape’s relationships with its parent company, its ownership by one of the most influential studios influenced the company’s strategy and pipeline.
Speaking of influence, Supercell has it through its games and as an active game investor. According to our data, from 2020 to YTD, Supercell has participated in 17 funding rounds, in 10 of which they were the sole investors, with funding rounds totaling $177.1m and $97.1m, respectively. Below are some of the most significant deals in recent years:
— In May’22, Supercell invested $60m in UK-based mobile games developer Trailmix Games, known for Love & Pies;
— In Jul’22, it participated in a $41m round for Germany-based web3 games developer Klang Games;
— Most recently, in Nov’24, Supercell financed Spain-based games developer Penguin Armada for an undisclosed amount.
As part of this analysis, we’ve created a table of all Supercell-related deals for the period. To gain access to this exclusive data and support our work, consider joining us on Patreon.
Strategic Rationale
Following the 100% acquisition, Supercell plans to transform Space Ape into a new Supercell office in London. Supercell has expanded beyond Helsinki, with offices in Shanghai, Seoul, and San Francisco. Strengthening its presence in one of the gaming industry’s key hubs makes strategic sense and justifies a complete acquisition, but there could be more to it.
First, while details of the original acquisition aren’t fully disclosed, it’s reasonable to assume there were options and long-term incentives in place. Given Space Ape’s strong track record, the founders likely hit their KPIs and were ready for this transition.
Second, Supercell needs new hits to sustain its momentum. While the company successfully leveraged LiveOps to bring Brawl Stars to impressive heights, other titles have faced a downturn. Most notably, their most recent release, Squad Busters, saw a 50% drop in revenue within the first month after launch and continues to struggle.
In Feb’24, Ilkka Paananen, CEO of Supercell, acknowledged in his yearly blog post the company’s struggle with launching new hits since 2018. Despite numerous attempts, many projects failed to progress beyond the soft launch phase. As a result, one of Supercell’s fundamental goals and ambitions is to break this “no-global-launch curse” and deliver successful new titles to the market. With Squad Busters not meeting expectations, the studio and its parent company, Tencent, are likely feeling pressure to make something big.
In this context, working even more closely with one of the few companies capable of launching innovative titles that consistently resonate with players is a logical move — and the timing couldn’t be better.
