From Wooga to Innplay Labs: Inside Playtika’s shopping spree

The Israeli gaming giant has made a number of high-profile acquisitions. Here's the list from start to finish

• 1 December 2018: Wooga

  

  December 2018 saw Playtika close its acquisition of German developer Wooga, after a self-admitted "rough two years" for its new subsidiary.

  The price of the purchase wasn't disclosed, but it did signal a significant move forward in the casual gaming space, with the deal meaning over half it's portfolio was made up of games in the genre.

  “We see great opportunities for Playtika in the casual games genre and our acquisition of Wooga firmly positions us for this next phase of our evolution,” said Playtika CEO Robert Antokol.

  “Playtika’s strengths in implementing live operations, advanced AI and performance marketing at-scale will serve as a global springboard for Wooga’s creativity in ideating and developing winning story-led titles.

  “Together we’ll bring audiences worldwide a whole new level of game experiences that never cease to captivate and amaze. The Wooga team is driven and passionate, has strong leadership and we’re thrilled to have them join the Playtika family.”

  
  

• 2 January 2019: Supertreat

  

  Just a month following the acquisition of Wooga, Playtika closed another European acquisition - this time of Austrian developer Supertreat, best known for its hit game Solitaire Grand Harvest, which it hoped to make "the number one solitaire game in the market."

  “The success of Solitaire Grand Harvest gave us the opportunity and flexibility to select our ideal partner to grow the game even further and we are thrilled to have chosen Playtika,” said Supertreat CEO Christian Baumgartner.

  “They’ve proven multiple times that they know how to scale a game post-acquisition and we expect to see similar success for Solitaire Grand Harvest.”

  
  

• 3 August 2019: Seriously

  

  Playtika made yet another European acquisition in Augut 2019, this time of Helsinki-based Best Fiends developer Seriously. This acquisition crucially sae the company expand its interests into the USA, thanks to Seriously's established presence in LA.

  “Best Fiends is not only a best-in-class IP and game, it is also managed by a best-in-class team," said Playtika CEO Robert Antokol. "Andrew Stalbow and Petri Jarvilehto have built an incredible company that has both the long-term vision for its IP and a narrow focus on driving performance in its core games franchise.

  “This acquisition makes us one step closer to becoming the largest Western-facing mobile games company, and I am eager for Andrew, Petri and the Seriously team to play an important role in getting us there.”

  Unfortunately, Playtika shuttered Seriously in October 2022 as part of a reevaluation of its business operations. 

  
  

• 4 September 2021: Reworks

  

  Playtika returned to the acquisition game after a two year period with the purchase of 80% of Helsinki-based developer Reworks, best known for its design game Redecor. The purchase came at a hefty cost of $400 million, with a a further acquisition of the remaining 20% for up to $200 million in 2022, or as low as $1, depending on the company's EBITDA for the year.

  "As the fragmented and historically offline market of home décor continues to expand onto digital channels, Reworks offers us a compelling opportunity to establish a leading presence in a category that clearly commands a lot of interest and will potentially serve as a foundation to enter further areas beyond traditional gaming," said Playtika co-founder, CEO, and chairman Robert Antokol.

  
  

• 5 January-March 2023: Rovio

  

  Despite Playtika's history of acquisitions, it's somewhat ironic that the company's most talked about deal is one it failed to close: Rovio, creator of one of the world's biggest mobile game franchises, Angry Birds, were the next target for Playtika, with a massive $737.5 million on the table.

  Rovio had long been an attractive acquisition for Playtika, with CEO Robert Antokol commenting “We firmly believe the combination of Rovio’s renowned IP and scale of its user base, together with our best-in-class monetisation and game operations capabilities, will create tremendous value for our shareholders.”

  Unfortunately for Playtika, talks eventally collapsed with no deal in sight, leaving the door open for Sega to swoop in and acquire Rovio for themselves.

  
  

• 6 August 2023 - Youda Games

  

  August 2023 saw Playtika acquire Azerion's Youda Games portfolio, including social card game Governor of Poker 3, for an upfront fee of $89.1 million, with an additional earnout based on performance bringing the potential price up to $165 million.

  “The acquisition of Youda Games’ card game portfolio, with its strong IP, is in line with Playtika’s strategic incremental growth approach of leveraging our unrivalled LiveOps expertise and proprietary technology stack to optimise and scale games, strengthening our market position,” said Playtika president and CFO Craig Abrahams.

  “We believe this acquisition will be accretive to our financial performance and is part of our strategy to acquire proven franchises where we can add value.”

  
  

• 7 September 2023 - Innplay Labs

  

  Just days ago on September 29 Playtika announced and subsequently closed its latest acquisition - Animals and Coins developer Innplay Labs for an upfront fee of $80 million, and a total purchase price of up to $300 million. The purchase increased Playtika's capabilities in the luck battle genre, as well as demonstrating Playtika's commitment to the strategic expansion of its gaming portfolio.

  “Since our founding and through our track record of optimising high-growth potential IP, like Animals & Coins, Playtika has built a reputation for completing strategic acquisitions that deliver value to shareholders,” said Playtika president and chief financial officer Craig Abrahams. “This acquisition of Innplay Labs strengthens our position as a mobile games leader and is a testament to our commitment to investing in Israel as a global technology and innovation hub.”