Company:InnoGames

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Short description: German video game developer based in Hamburg
InnoGames GmbH
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2007; 17 years ago (2007) in Stade, Germany
Founders
  • Eike Klindworth
  • Hendrik Klindworth
  • Michael Zillmer
Headquarters,
Key people
  • Hendrik Klindworth (CEO)
  • Michael Zillmer (COO)
  • Christian Pern (CMO)
  • Armin Busen (CPO)
Number of employees
400[1] (2020)
ParentModern Times Group
DivisionsInnoGames Düsseldorf
Websiteinnogames.com

InnoGames GmbH is a German video game developer based in Hamburg. Founded in 2007, it focuses on the development of browser and mobile games. The company now has more than 200 million registered players and by 2017, it reached a revenue of 161.5 million.[2]

History

In 2003, founders Eike and Hendrik Klindworth created and released the browser-based online game Tribal Wars as a hobby project. At the end of 2005, the game reached more than 50,000 active players and today has a total of 55 million registered players.[3] Due to the success, the three founders decided to work full-time on the development and publishing of browser games. Then in early 2007, InnoGames was founded to handle the operation and continued development of the Die Stämme (English name Tribal Wars). Since then, the company has developed new games and publishes their games worldwide.[4]

The company released its second game, The West, in 2008. That same year InnoGames moved to Hamburg-Harburg and hired additional employees.[4] As the company continued to grow, they released their third game, Grepolis, on 2009. Since 2013, Grepolis is playable as an app for iOS and Android devices.[5] Its first city-builder, Forge of Empires, was published in 2012. The game includes a journey through time that begins in the Stone Age and guides the player through the ages of human history. As of late-July, 2018, the latest era is the Virtual Future, but further extensions are planned. Forge of Empires was awarded the German Computer Game Prize in 2013 as the best browser game.[6] Since 5 June 2014 the game is also playable as an app on the iPad.[7] The iPhone version followed on September 2014 [8] and the Android version on 25 March 2015.[9] Following Forge of Empires' Android version in 2015, the German developer published its second city-building MMO, Elvenar in April[10]

Further growth

In May 2010, the investor Fidelity Growth Partners Europe (FGPE) joined InnoGames with a minority share. Also in 2010, former Electronic Arts executive Gerhard Florin joined InnoGames as Chairman.[11] By 2016, MTG (Modern Times Group) acquired 35% of the German free-to-play developer.[12] 2016 was also InnoGames' most successful year, having a 68% year-on-year growth.[13] The following year, InnoGames acquired Wooga's strategy game Warlords, promising a relaunch of the game.[14] Later, on 2 May 2017 the Swedish Company MTG increased its stake in InnoGames by buying 51% of the company[15] As of July 2018, the company employs 420 people.[16]

Mobile initiative

The first title that the company launched on mobile platforms was Tribal Wars, its founding game. Grepolis, another of its strategy browser titles, was also launched onto mobile platforms in 2013.[17] Finally in 2014, Forge of Empires was also converted to tablet and mobile [18] and increased the company's revenues. InnoGames managed to transition from browser to mobile, even as other studios have faltered. The company now has four studios which develop and maintain their strategy games.[12] Despite focusing on mobile, their CEO has said that the company will continue developing and maintaining browser games in the future [19]

Communities and languages

InnoGames is known for establishing dedicated communities in a plethora of languages. All the games are available in over 20 languages, and support to the players is provided not only through a support system, but also in forums. At the communities disposal, InnoGames count with Community Managers (and moderation teams), which engage, collect feedback and provide support to the players.[20][21]

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s)
2003 Tribal Wars Android, Browser, iOS
2008 The West Browser
2009 Grepolis Android, Browser, iOS
2010 Seven Lands Browser, discontinued
2010 Lagoonia Browser, discontinued
2012 Forge of Empires Android, Browser, iOS
2014 Tribal Wars 2 Android, Browser, iOS
2015 Elvenar Android, Browser, iOS
2017 Warlords of Aternum Android, iOS
2017 Lost Survivor Game pulled before release.
2018 God Kings Android, iOS

Awards

The games Tribal Wars, The West, Grepolis, Forge of Empires and Seven Lands have received several awards and nominations.

Forge of Empires:

  • 2012 – Nomination for the European Games Award in the category Best European Browser Game[22]
  • 2012 – Nomination at the German Developer Prize for the Developer Game of the Year in the categories Best Game Design and Best Browser Game
  • 2013 – Winner of the German Computer Games Prize in the category Best Browser Game[4]
  • 2013 – Winner of the “MMO of the Year”-Award in the category Best Strategy Browser MMO[23]

Grepolis:

  • 2009 – Nomination in the category Best Strategy Game and Best German Browser game 2009 at the German Developer Prize[24]
  • 2010 – Nomination for the Bäm! Computec Games Award in the category Online- or Browser Game
  • 2011 – Nomination in the category Best Browser Game at the European Games Awards[25]
  • 2012 – Winner of the "MMO of the Year, Jury-Award" in the category Best Classic Browser MMO[26]
  • 2013 – Nomination for "MMO of the Year" in the category Best Classic Browser MMO

Die Stämme:

  • 2006 – Audience Award "Browser Game of the Year" from the Website galaxynews in the category Fun
  • 2010/2011 – Nomination for den Browser Game of the Year – Audience Award in the category Best Game Expansion[27]

Seven Lands:

  • 2011 – “MMO of the Year”-Award in the category "Role Playing Games"[28]

References

  1. Fröhlich, Petra (10 January 2020). "Die größten Spiele-Entwickler in Deutschland 2020" (in de). https://www.gameswirtschaft.de/wirtschaft/groesste-spiele-entwickler-deutschland-2020/. 
  2. InnoGames reports revenue growth of 24% last year, up to €161.5m, gamesindustry.biz, 20 February 2018, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-02-20-innogames-reports-revenue-growth-of-24-percent-up-to-161-5m 
  3. "Tribal Wars 2 Launched on iOS, Seamlessly Sharing Data With Android and Browser". 24 June 2015. http://2p.com/34601305_1/Tribal-Wars-2-Launched-on-iOS-Features-Real-time-And-Strategic-Battles-Online-by-crazy-guy.htm. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 InnoGames. "InnoGames | Company History, History, Management" (in en). https://www.innogames.com/company/about-us/?nsextt=n3tsp4rke2&cHash=d4221b65a065a2b011d831b55a0c9ef1. 
  5. "Grepolis App Now Available on iPhone". GameCry.com. 4 September 2013. http://gamecry.com/blog/grepolis-app-iphone/. 
  6. "MMO of the Year Hall of Fame". http://de.mmooftheyear.com/hall-of-fame. 
  7. Shaul, Brandy (5 June 2014). "InnoGames brings Forge of Empires to iPad". ADWEEK. http://www.adweek.com/digital/innogames-brings-forge-of-empires-to-ipad/. 
  8. Marceau, Erica (29 September 2014). "Forge of Empires now optimized for iPhone". Technology Tell. http://www.technologytell.com/apple/141070/forge-empires-now-available-iphone/. 
  9. "Forge of Empires Comes to Android". 25 March 2015. https://blog.forgeofempires.com/?p=1063. 
  10. "Elvenar Overview". https://mmos.com/review/elvenar. 
  11. Matt Martin (2 February 2011). "Florin takes chairman role at InnoGames". GamesIndustry.biz. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-02-02-florin-takes-chairman-role-at-innogames. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 Handrahan, Matthew (13 Oct 2016). "MTG acquires 35% of InnoGames for €90 million". http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-10-13-mtg-acquires-35-percent-of-innogames-for-90-million. 
  13. Tucker, Jake (7 Feb 2017). "Players managed 600m hours of gameplay on InnoGames titles in 2016". http://www.develop-online.net/news/innogames-post-record-financials-after-a-decade-of-year-on-year-growth/0229292. 
  14. Takahashi, Dean (23 February 2017). "InnoGames acquires Wooga's stratgy game Warlords". VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/2017/02/23/innogames-acquires-woogas-strategy-game-warlords/. 
  15. Winter, Jason (2 May 2017). "Swedish Entertainment Company Buys 51% Stake in InnoGames". https://www.mmobomb.com/news/swedish-entertainment-company-buys-51-stake-innogames/. 
  16. "Deutschlands größte Spielehersteller 2018" (in de). 2 July 2018. https://www.gameswirtschaft.de/wirtschaft/deutschlands-groesste-spielehersteller-2018/. 
  17. E3 – InnoGames' Growth & The Move to Fully Cross-Platform Experiences.Two of six games have a mobile app., RTSGURU, 26 June 2013, http://www.rtsguru.com/article/6090/E3-InnoGames-Growth-The-Move-to-Fully-Cross-Platform-Experiences.html 
  18. us.forgeofempires.com
  19. "Interview with Hendrik Klindworth, CEO of InnoGames". 10 Oct 2015. http://www.f2p.com/interview-with-hendrik-klindworth-ceo-of-innogames/. 
  20. "It is love, not just a game: InnoGames celebrates 15 years of "Tribal Wars"". Gamasutra. 20 June 2018. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/320361/It_is_love_not_just_a_game_InnoGames_celebrates_15_years_of_Tribal_Wars.php. 
  21. "How QA and community management is redefining the game developer". Gamesindustry.biz. 6 April 2018. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-04-06-how-qa-and-community-management-is-redefining-the-game-developer. 
  22. Forge of Empires
  23. Preisträger des “MMO of the Year”-Awards
  24. Deutscher Entwicklerpreis Nominierungen 2009
  25. Grepolis
  26. Preisträger des “MMO of the Year”-Awards
  27. Die Stämme
  28. Seven Lands auf mmooftheyear.com

External links