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This article was published on August 27, 2013

‘Clash of Clans’ developer Supercell mulling move to Android to have a shot at Asia


‘Clash of Clans’ developer Supercell mulling move to Android to have a shot at Asia

Supercell, the developer behind the top-grossing iPad and iPhone games Clash of Clans and Hay Day, is “very actively thinking” about bringing its titles to Android in order to make it in Asia, The Financial Times reports.

Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen told FT.com in an interview:

You can’t be global without being in Asia, and you can’t be big in Asia without being on Android. I guess that’s a long way of saying that we are very actively thinking about it.

Even without an Android presence, Supercell is already minting money. Back in April, the developer was bringing in $2.4 million a day from its apps, which currently rank third and fourth on Apple’s top grossing list for the iPhone and first and fourth for the iPad. At the time, the Finnish developer was valued at $770 million.

The company is also already doing quite well on the iOS top grossing charts in several Asian countries, including Japan, China and Singapore. Anecdotally, I regularly come across active clans from China, Korea and Japan when playing Clash of Clans.

Assuming that Supercell manages to get the timing and execution for its Android releases right, it should see a massive jump in revenue. China, in particular, has indicated an overwhelming preference for Android. While Android monetization in mainland China remains an issue, Supercell could tap local partners for carrier billing.

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Supercell moving to Android would also be a boon for Google and its handset partners. For my part, Clash of Clans is the only app on my iPhone’s home screen that doesn’t have an Android counterpart. Considering that Supercell’s move to Android is likely to bring wins all around for its own bottom line, users and the Android ecosystem, this is looking more like a “when” than an “if.”

Image credit: Flickr / SimonQ錫濛譙

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