Social Gaming Network

Social Gaming Network
Private
Industry Interactive entertainment, Social network service, Video Games
Headquarters Los Angeles, CA, USA
Number of locations
 4
Key people
 Chris DeWolfe (CEO)
Aber Whitcomb (CTO)
Josh Yguado (President & COO)
Products Cookie Jam, Panda Pop, Panda Jam, Paint Monsters, Book of Life: Sugar Smash, Mindjolt Games
Number of employees
 150 (January 2015)[1]
Website SGN.com

Social Gaming Network (SGN), formerly known as MindJolt,[2] is an Los Angeles-based casual gaming company.[3] The company was founded in 2011 by Chris DeWolfe, Aber Whitcomb, Colin Digiaro, and Josh Yguado. Its flagship application (also called MindJolt) was formerly a top 20 application on Facebook. It has about 1,300 games from 1,000 developers.[4]

SGN is one of the major developers and publishers of games on Facebook, iOS, and Android. With a focus on using advertisements and selling virtual goods in-game, SGN utilizes MasterKey—a technology that allows the company to develop the game once and then quickly port it to all major platforms.[5] SGN has totaled over 500 million game downloads,[6] which have also been installed on leading mobile and social platforms, making SGN one of the largest cross-platform gaming companies in the world.[7] SGN is responsible for more than twelve top ten titles on the iTunes App Store and three #1 titles on the Amazon Appstore.[8] SGN's most popular games to date include Cookie Jam and Panda Pop.

History

SGN was originally funded by Austin Ventures[9] and led by a team of Internet pioneers, with the CEO being Chris DeWolfe[10] and CTO being Aber Whitcomb, both co-founders of MySpace.[11] The company was renamed to the Social Gaming Network (SGN) in February of 2012.[2] In June 2013, SGN acquired Mob Science, a game studio based in Carlsbad, CA.[12]

SGN is based in Los Angeles, with studios in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, and Carlsbad.[6]

In October 2014, SGN announced a partnership with Fox to release the companion game to the theatrical film release The Book of Life (2014_film). The mobile game, called "Book of Life: Sugar Smash" features the artwork and storyline from the film, in addition to audio from the celebrities in the film, including Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, and Christina Applegate.[13]

In December of 2014, game title “Cookie Jam” was named Facebook Game of the Year.[14][15]

In December of 2014, Chinese gaming and technology company, NetEase, announced an exclusive agreement to license the popular match-3 mobile puzzle game, Cookie Jam, across all major app stores in China.[16]

Games and Platforms

References

  1. ↑ http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/games-studio-sgn-taps-ex-myspace-marketing-exec-josh-brooks-to-make-hollywood-inroads-1201416112/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Staff writer (February 28, 2012). "MindJolt Becomes Social Gaming Network". SocalTech. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  3. ↑ Jon Swartz (July 13, 2010). "Life after MySpace: the next project for social network's co-founder". USA Today. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  4. ↑ Michael Arrington (March 3, 2010). "Chris DeWolfe Makes His Move – Raises Big Round, Acquires Gaming Platform MindJolt". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  5. ↑ Kozlowski, Lori (June 12, 2013). "The Science of Social Games". Forbes (New York City: Forbes, Inc.). Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hsu, Dan (June 13, 2013). "Social Gaming Network acquires Mob Science, shares its strategy for growth". VentureBeat. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  7. ↑ Dean Takahashi (September 14, 2011). "MindJolt gets a third of its revenues from social mobile games". VentureBeat. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  8. ↑ Leena Rao (June 23, 2011). "MindJolt's SGN Studio Launches Social iOS Game Mini Cafe". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  9. ↑ http://www.austinventures.com/portfolio/current/early-stage/P30
  10. ↑ http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/a-myspace-founder-is-building-again-with-online-games/?_r=1
  11. ↑ Amarendra Bhushan (March 3, 2010). "MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe, Colin Digiaro, and Aber Whitcomb to acquire MindJolt with Austin Ventures partnership". CEOWorld. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  12. ↑ Faughnder, Ryan (June 13, 2013). "Chris DeWolfe's SGN gaming company acquires Mob Science". Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles: Tribune Company). Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  13. ↑ http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/07/sgn-unveils-official-mobile-game-for-the-book-of-life-animated-film/
  14. ↑ http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/09/facebooks-best-games-of-2014-include-cookie-jam-cower-defense-bubble-witch-2-saga-and-more/
  15. ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-names-cookie-jam-the-new-candy-crush-2014-12
  16. ↑ http://www.cnbc.com/id/102264945

External links