This casual offshoot of the point-and-click adventure genre has proven that it can make the transition to mobile free-to-play, but the vast majority of Big Fish's mobile hidden object games merely offer a free demo before charging to unlock the full game.Surprise! Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ massive 2.0 update got an early release on Wednesday evening.
It remains to be seen how many will see the light of day, but the wealth of new titles in the works at least shows Big Fish's intent.Īnd last but not least, we come to what is – at least in terms of output – Big Fish's main business: hidden object adventure games. These are as diverse as social casino title ReelTown Slots, idle RPG Holy Ship! and pet-themed match-three puzzler Backyard Bash.Įach seem to be at various stages, barely charting in their respective soft launch territories at this stage. It has a number of games soft-launched or in beta, spanning several genres.
It recorded a position of 761st on January 28th 2018.įew others have made a major impression, but Big Fish has been looking for its next free-to-play hit for while. The game has faded somewhat in recent times, but still featured in the top 500 in the US iPhone grossing chart in spells throughout December 2017. An action-RPG, it's something of an outlier among the publisher's output. Still a regular top 20 title in the US iPhone grossing charts, sitting just outside at 120th as of January 28th 2018, the game is regularly updated with new content to keep its community engaged.Īnother free-to-play title published by Big Fish in 2014 is Boss Fight Entertainment's Dungeon Boss. The match-three game Gummy Drop has been possibly the best example, published by Big Fish Games in 2014 and still going strong in the grossing charts. For Aristocrat, who in 2012 acquired another social casino developer in Product Madness, perhaps the plan is to increase Big Fish's focus in this area.īut Big Fish has found free-to-play success outside of social casino, too. What's clear, then, is that social casino and card games can have serious legs. Meanwhile, 2014 release Fairway Solitaire has still been regularly ranking in the top 200 on the US iPhone grossing charts throughout the end of 2017 and the start of 2018, positioned at 217th as of January 28th 2017. It sat at 90th as of January 28th 2018, as we approach the two-year anniversary of its original launch. If it can maintain this kind of performance for another year, the logic behind Aristocrat's investment should become clear.īig Fish also has another casino title, Jackpot Magic Slots & Casino, in the top 100 on the US iPhone grossing charts. A near ever-present in the US iPhone grossing chart's top 50, it's a game that's enjoyed longevity to an unusual degree.Īs of January 28th 2018, the game was at 27th in the US iPhone grossing charts. The social casino category is a major money-spinner, as our in-depth look at the space shows.īig Fish Casino is Big Fish's flagship title in that space, firmly established since its 2012 launch. So what exactly is it about Big Fish that has persuaded Aristocrat to splash out?
BIG FISH GAMES APP UPDATES PC
Australia-based casino company Aristocrat Leisure has been making some major moves in the mobile games market, but why has it chosen to spend nearly $1 billion on the acquisition of Big Fish Games?Īristocrat being a casino firm and Big Fish Games being one of the leaders in the mobile social casino space is the most obvious point of synergy between the two companies.īut the Australian firm doesn't want to just be a casino company that much was evidenced by its $500 million swoop in September 2017 for strategy games studio Plarium.Īnd there's more to Big Fish than social casino, too, with a large part of its focus remaining on the publishing of paid hidden object games on both PC and mobile.