In 2010, the world was obsessed with a fruit-slicing ninja. Created by Halfbrick Studios, Fruit Ninja has been downloaded 500 million times and went on to become the second highest-selling game of all time on the iOS platform.
Halfbrick is a major name in the $100 billion global games industry. In addition to Fruit Ninja, the company was behind Jetpack Joyride and Fish Out Of Water, with the latter becoming its first number one game in the USA during 2014, with over 3.5 million downloads in one week.
Halfbrick’s success saw the company grow from 20 people in Brisbane to a global business employing 110 people in Sydney, Adelaide, San Francisco, Madrid and Bulgaria.
The company develops games predominantly for mobile devices, but has released games onto multiple platforms, including Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360 and PlayStation. Its games are distributed through the Apple App Store, Amazon and Google Play.
In 2014, Halfbrick’s focus was Asia. The company developed games to cater for the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Indian markets, where the volume of users and uptake of smartphones are significantly increasing. It also partnered with a Chinese games publisher to localise its games for the Chinese market.
The company has also created a new revenue stream by diversifying into publishing, releasing high-quality games by independent studios that complement its portfolio and company brand. In addition, it invests in start-ups with innovative technology.
Halfbrick’s diversification strategy was noticed by the judges, who said it was very encouraging to see the number of platforms and partners the company has formed relationships with to further its offering internationally.
To learn more about Halfbrick and its success, read the case study.