iCandy Interactive hauls in $1.3m during best-ever quarter
Attributing to iCandy’s record quarter was the launch of Masketeers: Idle Has Fallen which has been a big hit with gamers.
Mobile gaming company iCandy Interactive (ASX: ICI) has recorded its best-ever quarterly performance figures following the publication of Q4 2020 results. Most notably, the company’s cash receipts rose by 274% to A$1.3 million compared to the previous quarter.
Moreover, iCandy reported that its cash receipts in Q4 2020 were 18% higher compared to the first three quarters combined, thereby underlining the record-setting nature of its performance at the back end of 2020.
According to the company, the pronounced growth in cash receipts was due to the successful launch of anticipated new game Masketeers: Idle Has Fallen, which has proven to be a cult hit with gamers – recording $1 million in revenue sales within the first two months since its release in October last year.
In a bid to extend the popularity of its leading game, iCandy has also opted to launch Masketeers on the Samsung Galaxy Store in the US.
The US market has become a key focus for iCandy based on retention and monetisation data collected by the gaming company in early trials.
Another potential avenue to higher game downloads and sales, iCandy said it intends to “penetrate the lucrative Chinese mobile games market” by entering into a game publishing agreement with the Ohayoo, a leading game publisher in China.
The admitted aim is to localise, publish and market Masketeers across China, given the country’s rampant adoption of mobile devices and games.
Most recently, the company struck a further deal with the Chinese game studio that will see another one of iCandy’s games, Rocky Rampage, distributed across China.
According to market research published by MarketingToChina, China recorded over US$36.5 billion in gaming revenue in 2019, placing the country second to only the US as the world’s largest gaming market.
On the horizon
Longer-term, iCandy declared that it wants to further build up its product pipeline by developing a “3D game with AAA visuals and animation”.
To deliver on its ambition, iCandy has turned to a joint venture agreement with Lemon Sky Studios, a prominent game animation and art studio.
The studio has a star-studded history including work with existing gaming industry giants such as Disney, Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Square Enix, Naughty Dog, 2K Games, Capcom, Bandai Namco and Nickelodeon.
“The JV company, Malaysian-based Sky Candy Sdn Bhd has already been incorporated and has since hired its first employee. It is currently in the midst of hiring a dedicated studio team to carry out its game development activities,” iCandy said.