Playtika

Playtika (Playtika Holding Corp.) is an Israel-based digital entertainment company that specializes in the development and publication of mobile casino games. In 2021, Playtika had over 35 million monthly active users.[1]

Playtika Holding Corp.
TypePublic company
Founded2010 (2010)
Founders
  • Robert Antokol
  • Uri Shahak
HeadquartersIsrael
Key people
Robert Antokol
ProductsOnline games
RevenueUS$2.37 billion (2020)
Number of employees
3,800 (December 31, 2020)
Websiteplaytika.com

History

The company was founded in 2010 by Robert Antokol and Uri Shahak (son of former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Minister Amnon Lipkin-Shahak).[2] In May 2011, the company was bought by Caesars Entertainment Corporation.[3] Antokol remained the CEO of Playtika, and the company remained an independent unit within Caesars.[4]

In July 2016, the company's operations were acquired by a Chinese consortium,[5] valued at 4.4 billion dollars.[6]

Headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, the company has over three thousand employees in offices worldwide including Tel-Aviv, London,[7] Berlin, Vienna, Helsinki, Montreal, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Kyiv, Bucharest, Minsk, Dnipro, and Vinnytsia.

Playtika started off in the casino-style genre of "Social Casino Games". This genre uses the central elements of popular casino games but players cannot use real cash within the gameplay, nor can they win real money.

At January 2018, Playtika set up a $400 million Israel investment fund. The fund plans to invest in Israeli mobile and Internet digital entertainment and consumer product companies.[8]

In October 2017, Playtika entered the casual games niche with its acquisition of the Israeli-based games studio, Jelly Button. In December 2018, the company took another step in its new diversification strategy with the acquisition of Berlin-based casual games studio, Wooga.[9] In January 2019, the company acquired a Vienna-based casual games studio, Super treat.

In May 2019, the company launched an independent division dedicated to the creation and rapid development of casual games which plans to launch several new games every year.[10]

The announcement introducing the new independent division was made at the company's Global Summit in Ibiza, where over 2,500 employees from Playtika's 16 locations around the world gathered for a company event.[11]

In August 2019, Playtika acquired Finnish mobile game company Seriously, publisher of Best Fiends, a cartoon-style mobile game that launched in 2014.[12]

In March 2020, Playtika will donate its catered meals and food to local communities to provide relief for the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

In January 2021, Playtika filed for an IPO.[14] On January 20, 2021, Playtika completed its initial public offering of approximately 80M shares of common stock at $27 per share.[15]

In March 2022, Playtika announced the company had acquired the Israel-based, online building and shooting simulator software development company JustPlay.LOL, most known for creating the multiplayer game 1V1.LOL.[16]

Games

The company operates the following games, among others:

See also

References
  1. Israeli gaming co Playtika holds Nasdaq IPO at $11b valuation, Haaretz
  2. "Playtika's young founders win big on casino acquisition – Globes". en.globes.co.il (in Hebrew). 18 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  3. "Playtika CEO explains how games have arrived in Israel". VentureBeat. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  4. "Israeli Startup Playtika Bought For $4.4B | News Briefs". nocamels.com. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. Mozur, Paul (31 July 2016). "Chinese Group to Pay $4.4 Billion for Caesars' Mobile Games". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  6. Loo, Daryl; Naughton, Keith (30 July 2016). "Chinese Group to Buy Caesars' Games Unit for $4.4 Billion". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  7. Chapple, Craig (28 May 2019). "Playtika opens London studio". PocketGamer.biz. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  8. Yablonko, Yasmin (29 January 2018). "Playtika sets up $400m Israel investment fund". Globes. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  9. Shahaf, Tal (3 December 2018). "Playtika buys German games co Wooga". Globes. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  10. Takahashi, Dean (20 May 2020). "Playtika doubles down with a new casual games lab". VentureBeat. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  11. Pick, Adi (21 May 2019). "Playtika Sets Up New Team to Create the Next Candy Crush". Calcalist. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  12. Takahashi, Dean (26 August 2019). "Playtika acquires Best Fiends mobile game publisher Seriously". VentureBeat. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  13. Partleton, Kayleigh (19 March 2020). "Playtika is donating its catered meals to local communities to help against the coronavirus". PocketGamer.biz. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  14. "Playtika prices $1.88 billion IPO above target range". Reuters. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  15. "New Coverage: Playtika Has Significant Flexibility to Incur Additional Secured Debt, Access to Leverage-Based Restricted Payments and Investments After IPO, Refinancing, Amendments". Reorg. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  16. "Playtika pursues diversification with JustPlay.LOL acquisition". iGaming Business. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. Kerr, Chris. "Playtika acquires Best Fiends developer-publisher Seriously". www.gamasutra.com.
  18. "Playtika grows Q1 revenue 19.6% and cuts debt costs, but stock falls 5% in early trading". 11 May 2021.
  19. "Playtika Acquires Israel's Jelly Button to Expand Game Offerings". BloombergQuint.
  20. Prang, Sarah E. Needleman and Allison (15 January 2021). "Playtika's Shares Jump in Market Debut as IPOs Remain Hot" – via www.wsj.com.
  21. "Playtika acquires casual mobile game maker Wooga for over $100 million". 3 December 2018.
  22. Chapple, Craig; Editor, Senior. "Social casino giant Playtika acquires Pearl's Peril dev Wooga". pocketgamer.biz. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  23. "Chinese-owned Playtika buys Israeli firm Jelly Button Games". Haaretz.com.
  24. "Gardenscapes by Russia's Playrix is Facebook's game of the year". 21 December 2016.
  25. "Mobile game maker Playtika goes public at $11 billion valuation". 15 January 2021.
  26. "Playtika acquires casual card game developer Supertreat". 17 January 2019.
  27. Studios, Tripledot. "Mobile Games Leader Tripledot Studios Bolsters Leadership Team With Key Hires". www.prnewswire.com.
  28. "World Series of Poker: How Playtika's Montreal team has kept the mobile game on top". 18 December 2017.
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