2024-08-27
Our Make Green Tuesday Moves campaign wouldn't be possible without the passionate support of our studio partners. Here, we're shining a spotlight on BoomBit, a studio committed to creating engaging games that also contribute to a healthier planet.
Let's explore how its popular ‘Club’ series of games – plus Hunt Royale, Dawn of Ages and Car Driving School – have been integrated into the MGTM campaign, including how these games are inspiring players to make eco-friendly choices and contribute to a more sustainable world….
Tell us about BoomBit – when, how it was founded, by whom, and where you are today in terms of staff count, studios, etc.
BoomBit is a globally recognizable brand in the gaming market. The company was founded in 2010 and has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since May 2019.
For years the BoomBit internal development teams have been creating different types of new games. Our portfolio includes Hyper-Casual, Mid-Core, and Casual games. Since 2022 we have also developed blockchain-based projects through BoomLand and PlayEmber.
In the middle of 2024 BoomBit is a mobile game developer and publisher with over 320 people on board. Apart from our internal development teams, BoomBit also includes specialized teams in such areas as Art, Design, Business Intelligence, Games Creatives, User Acquisition, and Data Analysis. We work closely together and learn from each other, then pass this knowledge to external development teams from all over the world.
Your HQ is in Poland but with a global reach – how significant is the games industry in the country?
The company was founded and is headquartered in Gdańsk, but runs its business in international markets – mainly in North America (48% of revenues in 2023), Europe (29%) and Asia (18%). Our employees are also located in many places, and we cooperate with several studios from all over the world. The mobile market has no boundaries, so our reach is global.
The gaming market in Poland has experienced dynamic development in recent years, becoming one of the key sectors in the country’s entertainment industry. It is the most represented sector on the Polish stock exchange. Poland is one of the leaders in Europe in terms of employment in the game dev sector and is known worldwide for the high quality of games prepared by Polish studios.
You’re something of a specialist in the causal & hyper casual genres – how did that come about?
Looking at the Hyper-Casual market in Poland we are the largest studio, but mobile gaming is very dynamic and we are going to follow the way the industry evolves. During the pandemic, such games were definitely the most popular and focusing on their production turned out to be a great idea and main driver of our revenue growth. The advantages of Hyper-Casual games are a short period of return on investment and low production costs. This year it is becoming increasingly difficult to introduce a new Hyper-Casual game: the costs of acquiring a user in this genre have increased so much that the previous monetization models are no longer sufficient.
But we don't just focus on games of this type: we also make Mid-Cores. Hunt Royale and Darts Club were the most profitable titles last year and the publishing plan for the coming quarters is very rich. From our perspective, diversification, flexibility and the ability to adapt to what is happening on the market are key. That’s why we undertake initiatives in many areas and game genres, develop our know-how and tools, and experiment with new sources of user acquisition and ways of monetizing them.
Our involvement in blockchain projects is also in line with this way of thinking. Web3 is only at the beginning of its journey, which is why we believe it is worth building competences in this area. More focus on Mid-Core and Casual games does not mean that we will gradually discontinue our activity in the Hyper-Casual segment. Such games remain an important source of our revenue.
Tell us about the ‘Club’ series of games, Hunt Royale, Dawn of Ages and Car Driving School.
Hunt Royale, which debuted in April 2021, is our flagship Mid-Core title and has enjoyed tremendous interest from the community that has formed around it. The game is a mix of an online RPG and MOBA, which offers an engaging progression system that allows the player to level up their favorite characters with every match. You can also take part in online matches and a variety of special events.
It is worth mentioning that when we started our adventure with blockchain titles, we decided that the first Web3 title would be Hunters-on Chain, the prototype of which can be considered Hunt Royale. Car Driving School is our most successful driving game. It offers 28 exciting cars and eight varied maps, taking inspiration from different places around the world. Dawn of Ages, a strategic, historical game, was released on May 9th this year and the performance of the game after 3 months looks very promising.
What is coming up in the games, new updates, events, etc?
We are constantly developing our games, adding new features that are attractive to players. An example is the Dark Forest update in Hunt Royale. Continuous development of games – new content, live ops, offer optimization, etc – is a "must" for Mid-Core games, so that they can function on the market for as long as possible.
We have over 10 new Mid-Core games in the pipeline for 2024. We are cooperating with external studios and are intensively looking for interesting titles on the market. We have several dozen games at the testing stage. One of the most anticipated premieres is Clash of Destiny, the latest production from the creators of Hunt Royale, which is planned to be released in the second half of Q3 2024.
How does the Make Green Tuesday Moves fit with your CSR goals?
I am very happy that we can participate in the Make Green Tuesday Moves (MGTM) programme, which is part of our CSR activities. The gaming industry, due to the nature of its activity, theoretically has a small impact on environmental issues, but we are aware of the changes in the climate, so we strive, for example, to minimize the use of electricity. Due to the changing requirements that are placed on public companies regardless of the industry, we are also working internally on preparing for ESG reporting requirements.