SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kabam, the leader in free-to-play games for traditional players, today announced 2013 gross revenues of more than $360 million, a 100 percent increase over 2012. The privately-held company has been profitable and cash flow positive since 2012.
“For the second consecutive year, Kabam blew past its plan,” said Co-Founder and CEO Kevin Chou. “A year ago, we forecast 2013 revenue would grow by 50 percent to $270 million. Six months ago we raised the forecast to $325 million. To close the year topping $360 million is a testament to the innovation, creativity and collaboration of more than 750 Kabam employees around the world who are focused on keeping Kabam the leading freemium games company for traditional players.”
In a year when Kabam was named one of the top 50 disruptive companies by leading business network CNBC, Kabam’s revenue was largely generated from games on the mobile platforms offered by Apple, Google and Amazon. However, Kabam still generates about 30 percent of its revenue on the Web via its own platform Kabam.com and its long-time partner Facebook.
“The disruption of the traditional video game industry is accelerating with Kabam and other freemium companies commanding 22 percent of the worldwide games market,” Chou said. “A new generation of consoles was introduced last year and initial sales appeared encouraging. However, over time, free-to-play mobile gaming revenues will dramatically overtake traditional game sales as more people worldwide download and play games on smartphones and tablets from freemium content companies like Kabam.”
“Kabam’s growth in 2013 was even more impressive because we simultaneously grew at 100 percent and improved the underlying economics and margins. These improvements allowed us to make significant and increasing investments in the future,” said Chief Financial Officer Steven Klei. “We are explicitly managing the company to maximize key investments and initiatives which are designed to emphasize long-term value creation over short-term profit margins.
“The company’s cash position is equally strong, with more than $70 million in the bank and a robust financial outlook for 2014,” Klei added.
Selected Highlights and Metrics:
- Kabam completed a unique secondary offering that raised $38.5 million and increased the company’s valuation to $700 million; none of the money went to Kabam as it was exclusively for the benefit of current and former employees as well as certain early investors. The offering was from both new investors as well as existing investors—a testament to the support for the strategy of the company
- Kabam’s average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU) is six- to seven-times higher than the industry’s largest U.S. company
- Kabam’s The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth and Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North placed in the top ten on Apple’s Highest Grossing Apps list for 2013; it was the second consecutive year for Kingdoms of Camelot on that list
- Four Kabam games surpassed $100 million in lifetime revenues. The Kingdoms of Camelot franchise surpassed $250 million in lifetime revenue
- In 2013, Kabam was one of the rare companies to have three games simultaneously ranked on the top 25 grossing lists for both iOS and Android
- A record 11 Kabam games grossed more than $1 million in a month in 2013
- Kabam acquired Exploding Barrel Games in Vancouver, British Columbia
- Kabam announced a new partnership with Universal Pictures and launched Fast & Furious 6: The Game, which was Editor’s Choice on the iOS platform in more than 100 countries and became the fastest growing Kabam game of all time. Kabam later announced it will launch a new game tied to the Fast & Furious franchise
- Kabam announced a partnership with ProSieben to distribute and promote Kabam games across Europe
- Kabam launched its third party game Publishing division with a $50 million fund
- Kabam opened an operations and customer service office in Berlin and marketing and service offices in Seoul, South Korea and London
- Kabam launched four games for mobile devices: Dragons of Atlantis: Heirs of the Dragon, a strategy game; Heroes of Camelot, a battle card game; Dark District, a tower defense game; and Blastron, an action-arcade game
- Kabam launched its popular mobile game Blastron on the Web via Facebook
- Kabam launched Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North on the Amazon Appstore
- Kabam and the University of California, Berkeley partnered to benefit athletics and education at the world’s top public university. The partnership includes naming Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium
- Kabam grew its worldwide employee base to more than 750 in 2013
- Kabam’s gross revenues is a non-GAAP number and is equivalent to bookings in the video game industry
About Kabam
Kabam is the leader in the western world for free-to-play games for traditional players with first and third party published titles available on mobile devices via the Apple Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, and on the Web via Facebook, Yahoo, Kabam.com and other platforms. Kabam is the fastest growing Internet media company in the San Francisco Bay Area and the 17th fastest growing company overall in the U.S., according to Deloitte LLP. Kabam's 2013 revenues exceeded $360 million, a 100 percent increase over 2012. The company is profitable and cash-flow positive, and has created four titles that have grossed more than $100M each in their life. Kabam’s Kingdoms of Camelot franchise has grossed more than $250 million in less than four years, making it one of the top 10 strategy franchises of all time. In 2012, Kabam Publishing was launched to provide third-party developers access to Kabam’s technology platform, distribution channels, data analytics and best practices that Kabam’s in-house development teams use to bring wildly successful games to players worldwide. Kabam has approximately 775 employees across three continents, with corporate headquarters in San Francisco. The company's investors include Google, Warner Brothers, MGM, Intel, Canaan Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures and others. More information about Kabam can be found at www.kabam.com.
