Indian Game Developer PlaySimple Acquired By Swedish Gaming Major MTG For $360 Mn

Indian game developer PlaySimple has been acquired by Swedish gaming company MTG for more than $360 Mn, according to a statement released by the two firms on Friday (July 2). 

Founded in 2014 by brothers Siddharth Jain and Siddhanth Jain, Preeti Reddy, and Suraj Nalin, PlaySimple’s games have registered over 75 Mn installs till date and 7 Mn monthly active users on its current portfolio of nine titles which include popular games like Daily Themed Crossword, Word Trip, Word Jam, Word Wars and Word Trek. Currently, the company has four new games in the pipeline to be launched during 2021, of which two are card games, a new genre for PlaySimple.

Net revenues of the company for calendar year 2020 were $83 Mn, corresponding to a growth of 144% over 2019. 

PlaySimple’s co-founder and CEO Siddharth Jain said, “We’re delighted to join the MTG family – MTG’s approach to investments offers us creative freedom, and the opportunities created by the GamingCo really resonate with our team. We’re excited to have found a new home for our company, one where our team can learn and grow alongside our fellow companies.”

The Indian game developer had last raised a funding round in 2016 when it raised $4 Mn in Series A round of funding from Elevation Capital and IDG Ventures India. It has raised a cumulative of $4.6 Mn till date.

MTG’s group president and CEO Maria Redin said, “We’re very happy to welcome PlaySimple to our family of gaming companies. PlaySimple is a rapidly growing and highly profitable games studio that quickly has established itself as one of the leading global developers of free-to-play word games, an exciting new genre for MTG. An experienced management team and focused, data driven operating model has allowed PlaySimple to develop multiple game hits especially popular with the growing global audience of female gamers. What’s more, the company has a pipeline of several exciting new games, some of which are card games, a new genre for PlaySimple.

The Stockholm-headquartered firm, which has also acquired Hutch for $275 Mn and Ninja Kiwi for $142 Mn in recent quarters, said PlaySimple will help it build a diversified gaming vertical. “Scaling and diversifying the GamingCo [an MTG subsidiary] helps to accelerate the operational performance while at the same time creating a more stable business,” the firm said.