Goodgames Studios is one of the biggest developers in Germany that released its most important game back in 2011: Empire: Four Kingdoms. Though it’s been on mobile devices for four years now, it was originally released as a browser title under the name Goodgame Empire. This strategy game has covered a lot of ground since then and recently became the most successful game in German history.
We talked recently about the history of the megahit Clash of Clans, but Empire: Four Kingdoms is a year older than the game from Supercell and has spent a lot of time accumulating players in an aggressive way. The title has now brought in more than $800 million in revenue since its release as a browser game, though its greatest success is closely linked to the 2013 release of its Android and iOS versions as the first Goodgames Studios game to hit the smartphone and tablet market.
If Empire: Four Kingdoms has been such a triumph, what are the keys to its success? If we’re talking about the straight-up components of the game itself, we’ve gotta say it’s not terribly different from the standard social strategy titles that are a dime a dozen on mobile devices. You know the drill: you construct buildings, recruit soldiers, attack enemies … all while waiting actual minutes to tick by as the works to finish up. The difference here is that everything is done with a certain meticulousness and quite a clear interface that displays how your kingdom grows bit by bit.
The fortunes of Goodgames Studios have seen quite a few twists and turns, given that it became one of the biggest companies in Germany in 2015 after being founded by just three people in 2009, but at the start of this year the firm laid off 200 people. The free-2-play market has heaved under the weight of video games and the other games from the company haven’t worked the same way as Empire: Four Kingdoms.
Luckily for this Hamburg-based firm, the latest news seems heartening. Nina Mueller, head of the games studio, has announced that they predict the success of Empire: Four Kingdoms and its browser version could extend over 10 years. For now we toast the current success of this game and hope the gamer community continues to enjoy it.
Empire: Four Kingdoms for Android on Uptodown [APK] | Download
