Softbank is Supercell's sole external shareholder; Clash of Clans’ Developer to Focus on Few Games
Softbank is now the sole external shareholder of Supercell after buying another 23% of shares. This means that the other shareholders will be leaving the company and that they have upped the stake to 73%.
Supercell is a mobile game development company which started in 2010. To date, they have managed to create successful games such as Clash of Clans, Hay Day and Boom Beach, with Clash of Clans being one of the most popular mobile games as of the moment.
Tech Crunch reports that even with a large portion of shares within the company, Softbank says that Supercell will remain an independent company and will run as it is. Furthermore, the current CEO and co-founder, Ilkka Paananen, will still be in the same position.
Supercell's strategy is to come up with games which would last for a long time instead of creating more games which people might lose interest in a short span of time. Take for example the Angry Bird. It took the mobile gaming world by storm but after several months, only few people play the game. They clearly don't want to follow that same model. They want their games to be socially- inclined. That explains the structure of Clash of Clans where you can form your own group and have battles according to Financial Times. Of course, in few years time, people will have a different taste in games. Hopefully, the company would be able to adapt.
Meanwhile, Accel has released a statement about this transaction. They have properly gave their farewell to Supercell. Apparently, they have been one of the early investors of the company. Accel has supported the game development company with their long term goals. They have been working together for four years. But with the deal Supercell had with Softbank, Accel had to step down.
It is evident that Softbank is very confident on where Supercell is heading. This is amid the challenges that mobile gaming industry is facing. They are convinced that Supercell will remain at the top of their game.