At the end of 2018, we reflect on a truly extraordinary year for Jam City and the mobile games sector at large. This year marked a moment in time when gaming, and specifically mobile gaming, truly pierced the artistic and cultural zeitgeist. From the popularity of Jam City’s Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, to the global phenomenon of Fortnite, to Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, mobile gaming’s relevance was reflected across the politics, movies, fashion, music and, of course, games of 2018.
As we refined our game making craft this year, Jam City’s franchises have benefitted and grown. Our core games continue to thrive, including Panda Pop, the Family Guy games, Genies & Gems and our own Cookie Jam franchise, which is a half a billion dollar mobile game that continues to grow year-over-year. We showcased our excellence in storytelling, art and insights by releasing one of the most magical and popular games of 2018, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Recently named one of Google Play’s Games of the Year, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery debuted as a number one, chart-topping game in 55 countries, fueled by more than three million pre-registrations, and 100,000 fan videos on YouTube.
Last year, I wrote about Jam City as a company at the forefront of a tremendous, global shift in human behavior that is changing how we communicate, connect and are entertained. Mobile games continue to rise as the fastest-growing form of entertainment media worldwide, both in terms of popularity and revenue. With two-thirds of all humans owning a mobile device, we enter 2019 with this shift increasing in scale and velocity. Representing 85% of all revenue generated by the App Store and Google Play, mobile games are the bellwether of the app economy. The mobile games industry is now a $70 billion global mega trend with 2.3 billion gamers worldwide (up from 100 million in 1995). Jam City’s opportunity has never been more massive.
Jam City plans to meet this market potential in 2019 with a dynamic pipeline of new games, events and experiences for our players. Our newly announced strategic partnership with Disney ensures a long-term slate of quality games based on Disney and Pixar IP. The first game Jam City and Disney plan to develop is a mobile game based on Disney Animation’s Frozen sequel. With Disney’s partnership, Jam City is definitively positioned to continue our rapid global expansion, introduce millions of new players to our amazing portfolio of games and develop blockbuster franchises into the next decade.
At Jam City, we love what we do. It is an awesome privilege to deliver joy and magic to our community everywhere, every day. We love our players, and we love the game! Jam City is completing development on our most exciting pipeline of upcoming mobile game releases. Our world-class team of designers, storytellers, artists, engineers and data scientists are putting the finishing touches on new games that we expect to grow into Jam City’s own iconic entertainment brands.
As more and more people around the world look to their mobile phones and devices for entertainment, connections and joy, Jam City’s teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Glendale, Toronto, Colombia and Argentina will continue to create award-winning, extraordinary mobile games for our millions and millions of players worldwide. We could not be more excited about 2019.
Happy holidays from our Jam Citizens to each of you.
Chris DeWolfe
Co-Founder and CEO of Jam City
