Wooga, the Berlin mega-startup which has rocketed in popularity since its 2010 launch, is increasingly shifting its attentions to the mobile gaming market. On Thursday it launched Bubble Island on iPad and iPhone alongside a major update of the Web version.
It follows the success of Diamond Dash, which helped prove the need for a focus on mobile having notched up 30 million iOS downloads to date for iPad and iPhone. The company, led by Jens Begemann, has seen its Berlin office grow to 250 employees since it was established in January 2009 with three co-founders and an intern.
Prior to Bubble Island’s release, 60 million people played the Web version of the game, and the company have taken steps to make the game more mobile-friendly. Adjustments were made to the speed and size of the bubbles to make sure the gameplay was at the right tempo. Being fully synchronised with Facebook, the game also incorporates a social aspect similar to Diamond Dash.
Renowned as one of the best places to work in Berlin, with an international atmosphere and emphasis given to getting to know your colleagues, the company in February overtook Electronic Arts to be the second biggest games company on Facebook, in terms of daily active users (DAU).
Jens Begemann, founder and CEO, said: “Bubble Island is a huge milestone for everyone at Wooga and marks the start of a very exciting six months. Having seen such long term success on Facebook, we’re excited to bring that same type of social experience for Bubble Island on the iPhone and iPad.”
Many tout the future of the Internet as resting with mobile, and games companies have been quick to stake their claim on this market, making it extremely crowded. HitFox for instance recently launched its mobile GameFinder so users can sift through the huge amount of content on offer. There are also many smaller players looking to muscle in, such as Berlin-based eelusion.
In the next six months Wooga is looking to further consolidate its success by doubling its portfolio of games. Among many releases the team are promising, Diamond Dash is to be released for Android, and Monster World for iPhone and iPad.