Miniclip launches a flurry of new games, so what's that say about what they have in store?

• Miniclip, the flash game site-turned hit mobile dev, have released a flurry of new games
• Whether that's ghost hunting, heroic tactics or a new bike game, it's a lot in the space of a few weeks
• But what's it say about their work going forward? Let's discuss

As we go into the end of the week, we’ve been making the rounds and examining some of the recent releases on mobile. Whether that be some new ones like Zenless Zone Zero, Kairosoft’s Heian City Story or re-examining Squad Busters, it’s been a stacked month for mobile.

But one thing that caught our eye was perennial mobile developer Miniclip. More specifically a sudden surge of three recent releases, albeit in soft launch. We found this notable because it’s one of the bigger groups of releases that Miniclip have offered up in recent memory.

Miniclip are of course the creators of 8-Ball Pool and Agar.io. A former Flash Games site turned into a mobile mainstay. 

So what’s it about? And why have we taken notice? Let’s dig in.

Why so many?

Now, we should note this isn’t exactly some sort of stunning news story. After all, “prominent game developer launches games,” doesn’t exactly stand out. However, it’s perhaps the number that’s most intriguing.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen the launch or soft launch of Bike Games - Racing Games (catchy), Hero Tactics: 2 Player Game (also catchy) and Ghost Invasion: Idle Hunter. All of these are obviously aiming for a more casual audience.

We reckon it’s evidence that Miniclip might be rushing out a few titles. Not to denigrate their catalogue, but this has been a stacked year for mobile and major releases like Zenless Zone Zero are increasingly capturing the high-paying audience most mobile games rely on.

With that in mind, getting games into soft launch fast means they can make a bigger impression. And of course, there’s always an older or simply more casual audience, perhaps put off by the animesque visuals of something like ZZZ, who are still craving the simpler pleasures, like what Ghost Invasion or Hero Tactics promise.

Changing times?

Something we’ve been floating in discussions around PocketGamer towers is the possibility that times are changing on mobile. After all, Apple has pushed the envelope by making the latest console-quality games available on their devices, and miHoYo helped set a new standard (alongside other developers) for what mobile can be.

Meanwhile, casual and hyper-casual games have been ebbing in popularity. And this could account for Miniclip’s recent activity. That’s not to say that these genres are about to die, because we’ve already seen the business side of things regain interest in these low-overhead, high-return types of games.

But they’ve definitely got more competition than ever, and their staying power is precarious. Whereas previous monoliths like Clash of Clans stuck around for years, nowadays casual and hyper-casual games are coming and going quite breezily. By having consistent output like this, Miniclip seems to have a quick turnaround for new games that capture the zeitgeist of the moment.

More likely, more mobile

Of course, the most likely candidate, for our money, is simply Miniclip pushing forward with mobile. Those of you who’re a certain age will remember when they were most well-known for having a Flash Games site. And for those of you not a certain age, these ran on browsers using the Adobe Flash plug-in.

When that site shuttered, many lamented, but Miniclip had already been making big money on their own, with the previously mentioned 8-Ball Pool. And while they’re best known for their sports offerings, you may notice that a couple of the above glut of new games step outside of that genre.

So overall, we reckon that this is a sign that Miniclip is doubling (tripling) down on mobile. Maybe with the reckoning that quantity will work in their favour on cornering the market, as they did with 8-Ball Pool. And expanding beyond the relatively narrow offerings of sports games, many of which are now licenced and thus more desirable to existing fans, means they can capture an even bigger market.

The Sybo connection

And of course, there's one thing we need to add. And that's Miniclip recently buying Sybo, the developers behind Subway Surfers. Usually, you'd expect them to lean on a company like that for further development, but it seems they're intent on keeping them mostly independent while working on their own stuff.

It's an interesting wrinkle to an otherwise straightforward story. After all, Sybo can lay claim to having the most downloaded mobile game in the world. But rather than using them as a crutch, Miniclip seems to be charging forward. Do they know something we don't? Quite possibly.

In conclusion

We did discuss around the water cooler whether or not Miniclip might be angling for something else, another push on mobile. Commensurate with what we said above, this would make sense. With Supercell’s Squad Busters sagging behind and being one of their weakest launches, and other mainstays of mobile slipping into the background, relative newcomer Miniclip has a chance to shoot forward.

And with their own ‘killer app’ in the form of 8-Ball Pool and Agar.io which have remained at the top of the charts, Miniclip does have the resources. So will they continue to remain a prominent background dev? Or are they about to push forward into being something far bigger?

This recent trio of games could be an indication that 2024 may be the biggest year yet for Miniclip. We'll just have to wait and see whether or not this is a flash in the pan or the beginning of something far bigger for them.