Kabam

Kabam
Type Private
Founded 2006
Key people Kevin Chou (Co-Founder & CEO)
Kent Wakeford (COO)
Steve Klei (CFO)
Revenue Increase 360 million
Employees 825 (April 20th, 2015)
Website www.kabam.com

Kabam (formerly Watercooler, Inc.) is an interactive entertainment company founded in 2006 and headquartered in San Francisco, CA. The company develops and publishes massively multiplayer social games (MMSG’s), including Dragons of Atlantis: Heirs of the Dragon and Kingdoms of Camelot. Before expanding into gaming, Kabam established itself as a social applications developer with entertainment and sports communities totaling more than 60 million users.

Kabam makes freemium games for social networking services, its own web site, and other game sites. The company focused on developing "real games," or games with immersive gameplay mechanics akin to more traditional MMOs. In late 2009, Kabam launched Kingdoms of Camelot, one of the first successful strategy games on Facebook, but in June 2010, the number of players began constantly shrinking.[1]

As of April 2015, Kabam has shifted its focus to developing AAA mobile games.[2]

History

Founded in 2006 by Kevin Chou, Michael Li, Holly Liu, and Wayne Chan, the company originally focused on building community apps for sports and entertainment fans, amassing more than 25 million users on Facebook and other social networks.[3]

In October 2009, Kabam, then Watercooler, secured $5.5 million in Series B funding from Betfair, the world’s largest Internet betting exchange, and Canaan Partners, which participated in the company’s Series A funding in 2007.[4] Kabam appointed Andrew Sheppard as President to manage its worldwide studio operations.[5]

On November 2, 2009, Kabam, then Watercooler, launched Kingdoms of Camelot on Facebook.[6]

On August 3, 2010, Watercooler changed its name to Kabam.[7]

On October 22, 2010, Kabam acquired WonderHill.[8]

On December 20, 2011 Kabam acquired Gravity Bear, creator of the Battle Punks social game on Facebook.[9]

On June 19, 2012, Kabam acquired Wild Shadow Studios, developers of Realm of the Mad God.[10]

On January 27, 2012, Kabam acquired Fearless Studios, a company founded by ex-LucasArts employees.[11]

On September 19, 2012, CEO Chou announced that Kabam is considering an IPO.[12]

On December 3, 2013, Kabam acquired Balanced Worlds.[13]

On January 15, 2013, Kabam acquired Exploding Barrel Games.[14]

On November 4, 2013, Kabam shut down servers for Imperium Galactic Wars.[15]

At the end of 2013, a secondary stock sale valued the company at $700 million and four of its games — led by Kingdoms of Camelot — grossed more than $100 million by the end of 2013, with $360 million in revenues for 2013.[16]

On March 10, 2014, Kabam acquired Phoenix Age.[17]

As of March 31, 2014, Kabam games are no longer available via the Yahoo Games platform.[18]

On June 20, 2014, Kabam shut down servers for The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age.[19]

On July 2014, Alibaba is investing $120 Million in Kabam, which now has a $1 Billion valuation. Kabam will be able to distribute the mobile games through Alibaba's apps.[20]

On January 12, 2015, Kabam acquired TapZen and Magic Pixel Games.[21]

As of April 2015, Kabam is only focused on developing AAA mobile games. As a result, a number of Kabam games were shut down, older Kabam games transferred to other companies and Kabam support for 3rd party games decreased.[2]

Games and platforms

Games developed or acquired by Kabam

Title Platform Original Developer Available to Play Release Date Shutdown Date Notes
1. Fantasy Football facebook Watercooler No 2009/07/01 2010/10
2. $20K Football Challenge facebook Watercooler No 2009/08 2010/10
3. 2010 Bracket Challenge facebook Watercooler No 2009/10/01 2010/10
4. Kingdoms of Camelot facebook Watercooler Yes 2009/11/06 Transferred to RockYou and supported by RockYou as of the beginning of April 2015, though Kabam still hosts the game and Kabam Rewards still apply to the game.[22]
5. Noodle facebook Watercooler No 2009/11/12 2010/10
6. Sweet World facebook Watercooler No 2010/04/28 2011/01/31[23]
7. Epic Goal facebook Watercooler No 2010/06/01 2010/11
8. SI Fantasy Football facebook, Web Kabam No 2010/08/06 2011/04
9. GreenSpot MySpace WonderHill No 2009 2010/12/02[24]
10. Dog World MySpace, facebook WonderHill No 2009 2010
11. Enchanted Gardens facebook WonderHill No 2009/10/12 2010
12. Furry Farm facebook WonderHill No 2010/03/19 2010/12/01
13. Tattoo City facebook WonderHill No 2010/06/16 2010/12/01[25]
14. Dragons of Atlantis facebook WonderHill Yes 2010/10/06 Transferred to RockYou and supported by RockYou as of the beginning of April 2015, though Kabam still hosts the game and Kabam Rewards still apply to the game.[22]
15. Battle Punks facebook Gravity Bear Studio No 2010/03/02 2012/03 Date is for beta release, server unresponsiveness by March 2012 was not announced and remains unresolved
16. Realm Of The Mad God Web, Kongregate, Steam Wild Shadow Studios, Spry Fox Yes 2010/01/10 Date is for beta release
17. Bomb Buddies facebook Balanced Worlds Studio No 2012/05/25 2013/06 Server unresponsiveness by June 2013 was not announced and remains unresolved
18. Castle Age facebook Phoenix Age Yes 2009/02
19. Castle Age HD iOS Phoenix Age Yes 2011/12/15
20. Underworld Empire iOS & Android Phoenix Age Yes 2013/01/15
21. DDTank2 Web 7Road No 2013/05/02 2015/03/05[26]
22. This Means War iOS & Android Magic Pixel Games, TapZen Yes 2014/06/26
23. Hero Force facebook Kabam No 2010/08/01 2011/04/29[27]
24. Glory of Rome facebook Kabam Yes 2010/10/23 Transferred to RockYou and supported by RockYou as of the beginning of April 2015, though Kabam still hosts the game and Kabam Rewards still apply to the game.[22]
25. Global Warfare facebook Kabam No 2011/03/18 2012/11/30[28]
26. Samurai Dynasty facebook Kabam No 2011/03/29 2011/11/15[29] Date is for beta release
27. Edgeworld facebook Kabam Yes 2011/05/18 Transferred to RockYou and supported by RockYou as of the beginning of April 2015, though Kabam still hosts the game and Kabam Rewards still apply to the game.[22]
28. The Godfather: Five Families facebook, Kongregate, Web Kabam Yes 2011/09/07 Date is for beta release. Transferred to RockYou and supported by RockYou as of the beginning of April 2015, though Kabam still hosts the game and Kabam Rewards still apply to the game.[22]
29. Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2011/11/21
30. Thirst of Night Web Kabam No 2011/12 2013/01/31[30]
31. Final Eden Web Kabam No 2012/01/27 2012/11/27[31]
32. Mobile Command: Crisis in Europe iOS Kabam No 2012/04/04 2012/10/08[32] Date for beta release, limited to Canada
33. Arcane Empires iOS, Android & facebook Kabam Yes 2012/06/26 Date is for beta release, limited to Canada
34. Legend Four iOS Kabam No 2012/07/21 2013
35. Trojan War Web Kabam No 2012/09/03 2012/11/19[33]
36. Battle Shard Web Kabam No 2012/09/12 2012/12/04[34] Date is for beta release
37. Kabam Slots iOS & Android Kabam No 2012/09/20 2014
38. The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle Earth iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2012/10/16
39. The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age facebook, Web Kabam No 2012/11/06 2014/06/20[19]
40. Edgeworld Mobile iOS Kabam No 2012/11/06 2013/06/24[35] Date is for beta release, limited to Canada
41. Legend Four HD iOS Kabam No 2012/12/10 2013
42. Lich Defense Android Kabam No 2013/02/01 2013
43. Blastron iOS, Android & facebook Kabam No 2013/01/03 2014
44. Farland Wars Android Kabam No 2013/03/06 2013
45. Dark District iOS Kabam No 2013/03/29 2014/07/21[36] Date for beta release, limited to Canada
46. Battle Dodgers iOS, Android Kabam Yes 2013/04/06 Published and supported by Galaxy Pest Control. Android version is no longer available.
47. Dragons of Atlantis: Heirs of the Dragon iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2013/04/16 Date is for beta release
48. Fast & Furious 6: The Game iOS, Android & facebook Exploding Barrel Games No 2013/05/15 2015/06/30[37]
49. Imperium: Galactic War facebook, Web Kabam No 2013/05/22 2013/11/04[15]
50. Order of Elements iOS Kabam No 2013/05/31 2013/11/11[38]
51. Galactic War: Legacy Android Kabam No 2013/06/12 2013/07 Loading issues occurred by July 2013
52. Heroes of Camelot iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2013/06/27 Date for beta release
53. Runes of War iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2013/08/26 Date is for beta release
54. Eternal Uprising: End of Days iOS & Android Kabam No 2013/09/23 2014
55. Wartune: Hall of Heroes iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2014/03/06
56. Blood Crown Web Kabam No 2013/12 2014/08/05[39]
57. Blast Zone! iOS Kabam No 2013/10/08 2014/08/28 Date is for beta release
58. Angel Alliance Web Kabam Yes 2014/03/11 Date is for beta release
59. Ravenmarch facebook Kabam Yes 2014/04/22 2016/02/16[40] Formally supported by 37GAMES by June 1, 2015.[41] but game suffers from long periods of broken facebook login
60. Spirit Lords (Spirit Storm) iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2014/05/07
61. Divine Might iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2014/05/09 Date for beta release
62. Blades of Excalibur facebook & Web Kabam No 2014/06/04 2015/04[42]
63. The Lord of the Rings: Legends of Middle-earth iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2014/09/18 Date for beta release
64. Metal Skies iOS & Android Kabam No 2014/08/05 2015/03/06[43] Date for beta release
65. Marvel Contest of Champions iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2014/10/02 Date for beta release
66. The Hunger Games: Panem Rising iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2014/10/10 Date is for beta release
67. Creature Academy iOS & Android Kabam No 2014/10/29 2015/04/10[44] Date for beta release
68. Fast & Furious: Legacy iOS & Android Kabam Yes 2015/01/23 Date for beta release

Games developed by 3rd parties and distributed by Kabam

Title Platform Original Developer Available to Play Release Date Shutdown Date Notes
01. Ministry of War Kongregate, Web SnailGames Yes 2010/08 2014/02/28[45]
02. Geomon iOS EsperCorp, Loki Studios No 2010/10/01 2013/04/17
03. Nadirim Web Digital Reality, Twisted Tribe Ltd. No 2010/12/08 2013/06/30[46] Date is for beta release
04. Dungeon Overlord facebook, Kongregate, Web Nightowl Games Yes 2011 2014/02/28[45]
05. Shadowland Online Web ZQGame Yes 2011/08/08 2016/02/16[47] Date is for beta release
06. Castlot Web Power Hosts Technology Yes 2011/09 2016/01/27[48] Date is for beta release
07. Book of Heroes iOS & facebook Venan Games Yes 2011/12/01
08. Clash Of The Dragons Kongregate, Web 5th Planet Games No 2011/12 2014/10/30[49]
09. Rise of the Warriors iOS The Monkey Twins Studios Yes 2012/06/28 2013
10. Age of Chaos iOS LVL6 No 2012/08/05 2013
11. My Singing Monsters Android, iOS & Web Big Blue Bubble Yes 2012/09/04 2013/02
12. Wrath of Olympus iOS Chocobotsgames, mekalabo No 2012/12/07 2014
13. Reign of Conquerors iOS & Android Minoraxis Yes 2012/12/19 2014 Date is for beta release
14. Invincible Armada facebook Neowiz Games No 2012/12/20 2014/02/28[45]
15. Kings of the Realm Web, iOS & Android DigitGame Studios Yes 2013/04/12 2016/01/27[50] Kabam published mobile versions of the game on September 2, 2014 but the different versions were never cross-platform compatible. The mobile versions stopped working by January 2015 and Kabam forum support ended on February 9, 2015.[51]
16. Puzzle Trooper iOS & Android gumi Yes 2013/06/21 2014/04/30 Date is for beta release
17. Moonrise iOS & Android Undead Labs, Kabam Yes 2014/12/01 Date for beta release, limited to Canada
18. Slot Galaxy facebook Galaxy Star Entertainment Yes 2012/03/23 2013
19. Slots Tycoon iOS Zipline Games Yes 2012/05/23 2013
20. Slot Galaxy HD Slot Machines Android Tap Slots Yes 2012/12/16 2013
21. Texas Hold'em Poker Web Yes? ? 2013
22. Galaxy Online 2 facebook, Web I Got Games Yes 2010 2016/02/16[52]
23. Wings of Destiny facebook, Web I Got Games Yes 2012/09/13 2016/02/16[53]
24. Call of Gods Kongregate, Web Biyojoy Network Technology Yes 2010 2016/02/16[54]
25. Glory of Gods Kongregate, Web Biyojoy Network Technology Yes 2012/12/03 2014/02/28[45]
26. Pirates: Tides of Fortune Web Plarium Yes 2012/01/12
27. Stormfall: Age of War facebook, Web Plarium Yes 2012/11/01
28. Yitien Web Reality Squared Games Yes 2013/04/09 Date is for beta release
29. Crystal Saga Kongregate, Web Reality Squared Games no 2011/08 2/12/2016
30. Demon Slayer (Wartune) facebook, Web Reality Squared Games Yes 2012/08/13
31. Wartune facebook, Web Reality Squared Games Yes 2012/08/13 Yahoo! version of the game was shut down on March 31, 2014 and progress transfer to other versions of the game was not possible.[55]

Notes: Release date denotes when the game is first available to play, including closed and open beta releases. For games that are developed by other studios and distributed by Kabam, the shutdown date is when Kabam discontinued their support of the games.

References

  1. ↑ "Playdom Reaches Out to Strategy Gamers with Verdonia". Inside Social Games. June 16, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Kevin Chou (2015-04-20). "Fewer, Bigger, Bolder: Kabam is Singularly Focused on AAA Mobile Games". Kabam. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  3. ↑ "Sports fantasty social startup Watercooler raises $5.5M". San Jose Business Journal. October 26, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Watercooler raises $5.5M to expand social fantasy sports game business". VentureBeat. October 25, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Kabam Crunch Base profile". CrunchBase. January 10, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Kingdoms of Camelot - Web Games - IGN". Ca.ign.com. 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  7. ↑ Chris Morrison (2010-08-03). "Watercooler Changes Its Name to Kabam, Focuses in on Deeper Social Games | SocialTimes". Adweek.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  8. ↑ "Kabam Acquires WonderHill, Wants To Become The Blizzard Of Social Games". Oct 22, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Kabam buys Battle Punks social game creator Gravity Bear". VentureBeat. March 29, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Kabam acquires Realm of the Mad God developer". Gamasutra. June 19, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Kabam acquires game studio Fearless Studios led by ex-Star Wars game developers". VentureBeat. January 27, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Kabam Weighs IPO as Game Maker Expands Beyond Facebook". Bloomberg. September 19, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Kabam acquires Balanced Worlds game studio".
  14. ↑ "Kabam Expands Global Studios, Acquires Exploding Barrel Games".
  15. 1 2 "Job losses as Kabam closes Imperium: Galactic War". GamesIndustry.biz. 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  16. ↑ "Free-To-Play Games Company Kabam Buys Phoenix Age As It Pushes For $650M In 2014 Sales". TechCrunch. 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  17. ↑ "Kabam expands into role-playing games with acquisition of Castle Age maker".
  18. ↑ "Kabam games no longer available via Yahoo Games".
  19. 1 2 "The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age - Epilogue". Community.kabam.com. 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  20. ↑ "Alibaba pours $120M into Kabam to challenge Tencent". Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "Kabam acquires two mobile game studios as it gathers more top talent".
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 "Welcome to RockYou!". Community.kabam.com. 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  23. ↑ "Sweet World: Tips & Cheats: Sweet World is playable until Jan 31 then it is going off line". Gamersunite.coolchaser.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  24. ↑ "Save Green Spot - About". Facebook. 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  25. ↑ Huyen Trinh Thu (2010-12-01). "Game online free 34: Kabam closing up shop on Tattoo City on December 1". Gamesonlinefree34.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  26. ↑ "Game Shutdown: DDTank2". Community.kabam.com. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  27. ↑ "Hero Force Closing Down April 29". Community.kabam.com. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  28. ↑ "Hero Force Closing Down April 29". Community.kabam.com. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  29. ↑ "Global Warfare Closure". Community.kabam.com. 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  30. ↑ Mike Thompson (2013-01-04). "Kabam shutting down Thirst of Night at the end of this month | SocialTimes". Adweek.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  31. ↑ "Final Eden Closure". Community.kabam.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  32. ↑ "Mobile Command Is Closing". Community.kabam.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  33. ↑ "Kabam Announced Server Shutdown for Trojan War «". Dotmmo.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  34. ↑ "Battle Shard is Closing". Community.kabam.com. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  35. ↑ "Edgeworld Mobile Closure FAQ". Community.kabam.com. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  36. ↑ "Dark District Shutdown Announcement and FAQ [English]". Community.kabam.com. 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  37. ↑ "Fast & Furious 6: The Game - May 2015 Update". Community.kabam.com. 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  38. ↑ "On Nov. 11, 2013 all Order of Elements servers will be shutting down permanently". Community.kabam.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  39. ↑ "Blood Crown: Shutdown FAQ". Community.kabam.com. 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  40. ↑ "Decommissioned Games". kabam.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  41. ↑ "Raven March". Community.kabam.com. 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  42. ↑ "Blades of Excalibur". Community.kabam.com. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  43. ↑ "Metal Skies - Game Closure on March 6th, 2015". Community.kabam.com. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  44. ↑ "Creature Academy Shut Down FAQ". Community.kabam.com. 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  45. 1 2 3 4 "Game Shutdown: Dungeon Overlord, Ministry of War, Glory of Gods, Invincible Armada". Community.kabam.com. 2014-02-07. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  46. ↑ "Nadirim". Nadirim.com. 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  47. ↑ "Decommissioned Games". kabam.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  48. ↑ "Castlot and Kings of the Realm Decommissioned". kabam.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  49. ↑ "Clash of the Dragons Farewell Notice". Dawnofthedragons.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  50. ↑ "Castlot and Kings of the Realm Decommissioned". kabam.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  51. ↑ "[2/5] URGENT - Kings of the Realm - Forum Closure on 2/9/15". Community.kabam.com. 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  52. ↑ "Decommissioned Games". kabam.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  53. ↑ "Decommissioned Games". kabam.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  54. ↑ "Decommissioned Games". kabam.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  55. ↑ "Wartune Yahoo! Shutdown". Community.kabam.com. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2015-06-14.

External links

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