Hypercasual mobile game publisher SayGames said its 40 games have been downloaded more than two billion times, including a billion downloads during 2020 alone. And now the company is starting a $10 million developer growth program for 2021.
I’ve never heard of the Minsk, Belarus-based company, but measurement firm Sensor Tower confirms that according to its research, SayGames games have been downloaded more than two billion times. The big hits include hypercasual titles — those you can play in a minute or so — such as Johnny Trigger, Sand Balls, and others.
The $10 million developer growth program will help independent game development studios showcase their hit games with SayGames’ publishing expertise.
SayGames launched 20 titles in 2020. Fifteen of them rank in the Top 10 downloaded games on Google Play and App Store in the U.S. Other companies having success in hypercasual games include Voodoo, Homa Games, and Ducky.
To continue its steady growth, SayGames is expanding its publishing activities by launching SayHero, a new program to help up-and-coming hypercasual game developers. The program includes initiatives such as SayHero Portal, a new self-service dashboard designed to streamline the go-to-market process. And it will provide developers with in-depth product knowledge and data.
The first batch of developers, which will be submitting their applications before March 31 will get access to the SayHero Portal for their games’ initial market tests. SayGames will then choose up to 10 developers to receive a “Hero” status and get a budget of up to $200,000 toward the release of their first game, totaling $2 million for the initial launch of the SayHero program. Participants should fill out the form here before March 31 to be eligible for entry.
Anton Volnykh, the head of developer relations at SayGames, said in an email to GamesBeat that the initial launch of the SayHero program is the first stage of what’s to come in 2021 for the publisher and its developer partners.
“Every sixth game we test with our teams gets launched globally. With this hit rate, we are committed to expanding our set of tools and initiatives to help more developers around the world unlock their true potential,” he said.
SayGames CEO Yegor Vaikhanski, said his game gets involved early in the process with developers to figure out efficient marketing at the outset. SayGames has offices in Minsk, Kyiv, Limassol, and Barcelona.
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