Plarium entered an agreement to acquire Finnish mobile game studio Futureplay to expand leadership in the casual games market

Battlelands Royale Developer Bolsters Plarium’s Casual Game Offerings and Adds Talented Development Team

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – August 2, 2021 – Plarium, a global leader in midcore mobile and PC games with more than 390 million users worldwide, today announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire Helsinki-based game studio, Futureplay, creator of mobile titles: Merge Gardens, Battlelands Royale, and Idle Farming Empire. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of August 2021, subject to closing conditions. 

“We are excited to welcome Futureplay’s talented team into Plarium’s family,” said Plarium CEO Aviram Steinhart. “The acquisition is a strong addition to our portfolio of world-leading studios. Combining Plarium's game development infrastructure and marketing capabilities together with Futureplay’s talent will allow us to expand and diversify our games portfolio pipeline even further.”

The two companies will work side by side; sharing knowledge, expertise, and resources to expand Futureplay’s existing gaming catalog and introducing new titles into the casual space.

“Plarium will be focused on investing in Futureplay,  allowing it to accelerate its growth and footprint in the Finnish gaming market, which is well recognized as a global hub for great game talent,” said Steinhart. “We see in Futureplay a talented and ambitious team to partner for the long term as both companies share similar culture and vision.”

Both companies are well-positioned to grow faster together. Futureplay has released six games that have been played by over 140 million users, and grown their social media and community channels to 2.1 million followers.

“We are eager to grow and learn from Plarium’s expertise as veterans in the mobile game market,” said Jami Laes, CEO and co-founder of Futureplay. “This collaboration will help enhance our existing games and bring new offerings to our players. Beyond the resources and talent Plarium provides to help us build even better gaming experiences for our players, we share a similar vision of maintaining a creative development environment where business growth never impedes on our passion for simply creating games that we want to play.”

About Plarium

Plarium Global Ltd. is dedicated to creating the best mobile and PC experience for its community of over 390 million hardcore and casual gamers worldwide. Our diverse portfolio includes over 20 games ranging from hardcore RPGs to casual adventures, featuring acclaimed titles such as RAID: Shadow Legends, Vikings: War of Clans, Lost Island: Blast Adventure, and the Stormfall franchise. The App Store and Google Play regularly feature our games, with Facebook twice recognizing us as a top hardcore Facebook developer. Plarium employs more than 1,600 specialists at its headquarters and across eight offices and development studios in Europe and the United States. Our games are available on iOS, Android, and PC. They are also available through Plarium Play, our optimized game launcher for PC and Mac players. Plarium is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX code: ALL). Visit www.plarium.com for more information.

About Aristocrat

Aristocrat Digital is the digital, social free-to-play games business of Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL).  Aristocrat Digital is a top publisher in tier 1 Western mobile markets, with ~2,300 employees globally in over 14 locations, and a diversified portfolio of successful game titles. Aristocrat Digital comprises three major operating businesses; Plarium Global, Product Madness and Big Fish Games, and boasts world-leading creative talent, live ops and marketing capability, together with a strong commitment to investment in innovation and growth. Citi served as financial advisor to Aristocrat. For more information, see www.aristocrat.com.

About Futureplay

Futureplay was founded in early 2015 by a team of five Finnish gaming veterans who shared a vision to transform the way mobile games are played around the world. Based in Helsinki, the company has expanded to more than 38 people, releasing six titles that have been played by 140 million people worldwide. Futureplay focuses on creating beautifully designed, approachable, and easy-to-play mobile games including their idle gaming catalog Idle Farming Empire, Idle City Empire, Idle Crafting Empire and Idle Tuber Empire. Futureplay’s MOCCA (Massive Online Casual Competitive Arena) game, Battlelands Royale, was the first in the battle royale genre truly made for mobile which became a global hit and was named one of Google Play’s Best Games of 2018. For more information on Futureplay visit, www.futureplaygames.com.

Media coverage:

Venturebeat - https://venturebeat.com/2021/08/02/plarium-buys-finlands-mobile-studio-futureplay-to-expand-into-casual-games/
Pocketgamer - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/76973/plarium-acquires-finnish-mobile-studio-futureplay-to-grow-casual-presence/
Gamesindustry.biz - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-02-plarium-to-acquire-futureplay-studios