September 22, 2016 – SGN Games, the mobile game maker created and led by MySpace’s co-founders, has a new name. Meet Jam City.
The 500-person company–whose games include Cookie Jam, Panda Pop, Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff and Marvel Avengers Academy–also announced that it has acquired rights to comic strip ‘Peanuts,’ which Jam City will release as a mobile game later this year.
Explaining his company’s rebrand, Jam City co-founder and CEO Chris DeWolfe said the new name combined with its recently licensed Hollywood franchises will help power his mobile gaming company to its next phase of growth.
“It’s time to bring our brand in line with our games,” said DeWolfe. “We’re in the business of fun, and yet our old name was a corporate acronym that lacked the spirit of our products. With Jam City, we’re harnessing the success of our games–particularly, our Jam game franchise–to animate our studio’s identity.”
Cookie Jam and Juice Jam, two of Jam City’s seven signature game titles, are collectively played 30 million times per day.
DeWolfe added that Jam City revenues have grown by 100% every year for the last five years. He said he expects revenues to surpass $400 million within the coming year.
Since receiving $130 million from Netmarble Games last year in what was the largest investment in a privately held gaming studio in over two years, Jam City has upped its investments in games based on entertainment franchises with global appeal while continuing to develop its own home-grown titles.
Jam City’s forthcoming Peanuts game will be its fourth based on Hollywood IP. After purchasing San Francisco-based TinyCo in July, Jam City acquired licenses to Marvel’s Avengers and 20th Century Fox’s Family Guy. Jam City’s Book of Life: Sugar Smash is also based on 20th Century Fox’s feature film.
“The opportunities for Hollywood in mobile games have never been as apparent as they are today,” said Rick Phillips, EVP at Fox Digital Entertainment. “Games can offer years of engagement and revenue for a film or TV show. Chris and his team have done an exceptional job. They’ve already succeeded with two Fox-owned properties, Family Guy and Book of Life. We’re looking forward to what they do next–this time under their Jam City brand.”
