YoYo Games
Leading cross platform 2D games development engine.
| USD | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| % growth | 11 % | 39 % | (19 %) | (12 %) | 1 % | 52 % | 27 % |
| EBITDA | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| % EBITDA margin | 41 % | 11 % | 10 % | 16 % | 14 % | 2 % | 15 % |
| Profit | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| % profit margin | 33 % | (5 %) | (23 %) | (21 %) | - | 22 % | 10 % |
| EV | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| EV / revenue | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x |
| EV / EBITDA | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x |
| R&D budget | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| R&D % of revenue | 1 % | 1 % | 1 % | 1 % | 1 % | - | - |
Source: Company filings or news article
YoYo Games, the company behind the GameMaker engine, was established in 2007 by Sandy Duncan. The company's journey is intrinsically linked to the history of its core product, GameMaker, which was originally created by Mark Overmars in 1999 as a 2D graphics tool called Animo. Overmars, a professor at Utrecht University, evolved this tool into GameMaker, a platform designed to make game development more accessible. YoYo Games was formed to commercially develop and support the engine, acquiring the exclusive rights to it. A significant milestone in the company's history occurred in February 2015 when it was acquired by Playtech, a major gambling software development company, for an estimated £10.65 million. This acquisition aimed to expand Playtech's reach into the casual gaming sector. Subsequently, in January 2021, Opera, the company known for its web browser, acquired YoYo Games for approximately $10 million, integrating it into its Opera Gaming division.
The firm's primary business revolves around its GameMaker engine, a cross-platform game development tool. It operates on a subscription-based model, offering different tiers of access to its software, which replaced its previous one-time purchase model in 2021. The target market for GameMaker spans from hobbyists and students taking their first steps in game creation to professional independent game development studios. The platform is designed to streamline the development process, allowing creators to build a game using a single codebase and then export it to various platforms. These platforms include desktop operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as mobile platforms such as Android and iOS, web (HTML5), and major gaming consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
GameMaker's value proposition lies in its accessibility and efficiency. It offers a proprietary scripting language, GameMaker Language (GML), which is designed to be easier to learn than more complex languages like C++. For those with less coding experience, the engine also provides a visual scripting system known as "Drag and Drop" (DnD), allowing users to build game logic without writing code. This dual approach caters to a wide spectrum of skill levels. The engine has been used to create a number of commercially successful and critically acclaimed independent games, including titles like "Undertale," "Hyper Light Drifter," and "Hotline Miami," which serve as powerful testaments to the engine's capabilities. The acquisition by Opera aims to create an integrated ecosystem for gamers and creators, combining Opera's user base with tools for game creation and discovery.
Keywords: game engine, 2D game development, cross-platform, indie games, game creation software, subscription model, Opera Gaming, Playtech, Sandy Duncan, Mark Overmars