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Russian game publisher My.Games said its revenue grew 30% to $562 million in 2020, as global gaming revenue stayed strong in the pandemic.
My.Games, a division of Mail.ru Group, accounted for 38% of the group’s revenues in 2020. The Moscow-based company expects that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) will double from 2018 to 2022. The results for 2020 — $85.4 million in EBITDA, up 28% — show that the company is well-positioned to meet that target, the company said. Warface reached 109 million users.
In 2021, My.Games projects that its revenues will grow at a double-digit rate. In the U.S., PC revenue for My.Games grew 53%. Mobile titles that also showed growth were Love Sick (with in-app purchase revenue up 85%), War Robots (ad revenue up 86%), and Zero City (in-app purchase revenue up 113%).
My.Games’ total audience increased by 165 million users to 770 million worldwide. About 75% of the revenue came from international markets with the U.S., Germany, and Japan making up the largest proportion. In the fourth quarter, the monthly active user average was 21 million, up 8.8% from a year earlier.
The company finished 2020 with nine new games in its portfolio, including Warface: Go, Warface: Breakout, Warface on Nintendo Switch, Zero City, World Above, Dino Squad, Storigton Hall, Grand Hotel Mania, and Rush Royale. The company expanded its strategy of acquiring new users across the portfolio.
The mobile game War Robots reached 184 million downloads in December and showed annual revenue growth of more than 30% in the seventh year since it was originally released.
CEO Vasily Maguryan said in a statement that the company grew thanks to constant experiments in development, strategic development of its own intellectual property, effective franchise management, marketing, and regular successful acquisition deals.
The expansion of My.Games will continue through the development of its own IP, which accounts for more than 90% of the brand’s total revenue, and M&A. The company has 13 partner studios, and it released nine new games in 2021, including Rush Royale, which was developed and launched remotely.
The investment fund My.Games Venture Capital (MGVC) invested in 12 game studios and signed deals for two consolidations: BeIngame and Deus Craft. My.Games has 1,800 employees. In total, the MGVC portfolio currently includes 35 studios. By investing in new studios, My.Games continues to expand its strategy for portfolio diversification.
Mobile games such as Grand Hotel Mania drove My.Games growth in 2020 with 73% of overall My.Games share and seven new mobile games launched. The top 5 revenue-generating games in Q4 2020 were: War Robots, Hustle Castle, Grand Hotel Mania, Left to Survive, and Zero City.
The newly acquired and consolidated studios contributed 9% to My. Games revenues in 2020. Warface on consoles hit 23 million downloads.
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