Clash of Clans, the popular mobile game on Apple and Android has entertained millions with its solid formula of army building and defensive planning. Now, the developer of the game, Supercell, has sold the controlling share of the company to Japanese telecommunications company Softbank and developer Gungho Online Entertainment.
The deal, which will give the two companies 51 percent of the Finland-based Supercell, is worth $1.5 billion. Softbank will be contributing the majority of the capital for this deal, with Gungho giving 20 percent of the $1.5 billion. Supercell released a statement about the news on their official website, with CEO Ilkka Paananen explaining that the move is a push to make Supercell the first global gaming company:
"The combination of tablets, mobile and the free-to-play business model has created a new market for games, one that will be accessible to billions of consumers, more people than ever before in the history of games. This truly is a new era of gaming and has opened up exciting opportunities for new kinds of companies...At Supercell, one of our greatest aspirations is to become the first truly global games company, one that has a strong foothold in both the West and the East, including Japan, Korea and China. We want to build a company that people all over the globe will look back in 30 years and talk about all the great games that we developed and the impact they had on people's lives. The same way I personally feel about Nintendo, for example...This is a lofty goal and getting there takes persistence, passion, and luck - but just as importantly, it takes time, and requires a lot of patience. Even if we have had a pretty good start on our journey, it is still very early days. Creating history takes time."
It is unclear how this move will affect the roster of games that Supercell owns. Clash of Clans is by far the company's most popular game, and at one point in April 2013 that game was making the company $2.4 million dollars a day, according to Forbes. The $1.5 billion sale may seem high, but it's likely still a smart buy; Clash of Clans alone is capable of generating millions of dollars a day despite being a free-to-play game.
Look out for more news about Clash of Clans right here as the game continues to be a smashing success for mobile devices.
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