SUPERCELL

Ilkka Paananen and five other gaming veterans, Mikko Kodisoja, Visa Forstén, Lassi Leppinen, Niko Derome and Petri Styrman, started Supercell in Helsinki in 2010, several of them from mobile game maker Digital Chocolate. The name reflects their structure: small, independent cells of developers working autonomously.

Their first hit, Hay Day, launched in 2012. Clash of Clans followed months later and became one of the highest-grossing mobile games ever, reportedly making about $1.5 million a day at its 2015 peak.

SoftBank and GungHo bought 51% for $1.53 billion in 2013, and in 2016 Tencent bought out SoftBank at a $10.2 billion valuation, more than three times the 2013 price.

Supercell makes free-to-play mobile games and earns from in-game purchases. It runs tiny, autonomous teams (called cells) with full creative freedom.

If a game does not meet internal standards during soft launch, they kill it, and celebrate the failure with champagne. The games that survive become massive and run for a decade.

Revenue was EUR 2.65 billion in 2025, down 4% on the year. Tencent bought 84.3% of Supercell in 2016 for $8.6 billion, the most expensive gaming acquisition in history at the time.

Clash of Clans (strategy), Clash Royale (real-time strategy card game), Brawl Stars (multiplayer shooter), Hay Day (farming), Boom Beach (strategy), mo.co (2025 launch, being reworked). Squad Busters (2024) was shut down: purchases were switched off in October 2025 and the game closes in the second half of 2026.

Quality over quantity. While competitors like Zynga and King ship dozens of games hoping one sticks, Supercell runs fewer than 10 active projects at any time and kills most of them.

The strategy depends on extraordinary hit rates from small teams. They also invest heavily in live operations — keeping existing games fresh with updates, new content, and seasonal events to extend their revenue lifespan.

Finding the next hit. Mobile gaming is brutally competitive and hits are unpredictable.

Supercell has killed far more games than it has shipped. Brawl Stars (2018) was its last major new hit.

Squad Busters launched in 2024 with 75 million downloads and over $100 million in player spending, but it fell short and became Supercell's first game shut down after a global launch. mo.co, launched in 2025, is being reworked.

Revenue slipped 4% in 2025 while the company doubled its new-game spending.

Accel put in EUR 8 million (about $12 million) in 2011. In 2013 Index Ventures, Atomico and IVP invested $130 million at a $770 million valuation.

Months later SoftBank and GungHo Online Entertainment paid $1.53 billion for 51% of the company, valuing it at $3 billion, and SoftBank lifted its stake to 73% in 2015. In 2016 a Tencent-led consortium bought 84.3% for $8.6 billion, valuing Supercell at $10.2 billion.

Tencent remains the majority owner, with founders and employees holding the rest.