Social Gaming
Social Gaming
“ We estimate social casino revenues generated on Facebook were down 1.9 % q / q, while mobile was up 3.6 % q / q”
we believe management is increasingly looking towards other segments. Hyper-casual, specialty card and puzzle games would be among the primary growth drivers. Huuuge Games continued its impressive growth trajectory with revenues increasing 8.6 % q / q or 63.8 % y / y resulting in market share of 4.5 %. Growth in Q2 was largely driven by Billionaire Casino( we estimate + 33 % q / q), and to a lesser extent Huuuge Casino( we estimate + 3 % q / q).
The company continues to dominate on Android / Google Play and is now the fourth largest standalone social casino publisher on this platform( putting it ahead of SG Digital and just slightly behind Zynga).
Huuuge recently unveiled the launch of Tap Tap Games, a new publishing label focused on publishing hyper-casual mobile games. The company stated that the new brand is part of its mission to become“ the global leader in real time free-to-play casual gaming.”
Social casino market share- Q2 2018( mobile & web)
Playstudios
3.6 %
Huuuge Games
Zynga
Scientific Games
Sony / GSN Tencent
3.3 %
DoubleU
Games
4.5 % 6.4 % 7.7 %
3.2 %
8.4 % 12.2 %
Aristocrat *
Source: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC
Murka
2.4 %
19.4 %
28.7 %
Other
Playtika
* Pro-forma: includes Big Fish Games social casino revenues + Product Madness
PlayStudios’ revenues were flat on a sequential basis but up 12 % y / y. POP! Slots remains the company’ s top grossing game and once again saw healthy sequential growth in the period. That, however, was offset by declines from myVegas and Konami slots( partly related to the Facebook Connect issues).
The company also launched Royal Charm, a game developed in partnership with King Studios, but it only contributed a nominal amount in the period. The company is still optimising the game and expects a larger contribution in 2H18 when it begins paid marketing.
Additionally, PlayStudios has made a number of new strategic hires in recent months and is realigning its studio structure, which it hopes will lead to further efficiencies and growth opportunities. GSN / Bash Gaming( majority owned by Sony) saw its social casino revenues decline 2.3 % q / q, or 5.4 % y / y. The company’ s two biggest titles, Bingo Bash and GSN Casino, both declined by low-to-mid single digits on a sequential basis. Other titles, namely Fresh Deck, Mirrorball and Wheel of Fortune made modest revenue contributions. Murka saw its revenues decline 12.5 % q / q or 6.9 % y / y this period. The company has significantly reduced UA spending in recent months, which has negatively impacted top-line results.
Despite this, the company continues to enjoy strong profitability and is seeing some of its best EBITDA margin levels. We also believe the company will introduce new content and features in future periods that should help reinvigorate revenue growth in 2H18. KamaGames, which entered our top 15 rankings last period, continued to enjoy strong momentum with revenues up 12.1 % q / q or 40.5 % y / y. Growth this quarter was attributed to new product releases( Split Bet Poker), new slots games being added and a number of other new features being added to the company’ s portfolio of games.
Disclaimer: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC is an independent research firm and is neither a registered broker dealer nor a registered investment advisor. No information contained in this report shall constitute as a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell a security.
iGamingBusiness | Issue 112 | September / October 2018 103