Slovak game developer Pixel Federation’s 2022 full-year financial report shows a 7% drop in sales.
Despite growth in users and revenue for their top performing title TrainStation 2, which rose to 1.4 million monthly active users and 19.5 million euros, the drop in sales can be attributed partially to the same post-Covid slump that’s hit many mobile game developers. During the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, due to stay at home restrictions, gaming across the board was up. However, as people adjust to the “new normal” these massive peaks declined catching those unprepared on the hop.
Pixel Federation has not been immune to this, however, amidst reassurances and commitments to their environmental pledges, the company remains profitable, with the goal of increasing user acquisition. They spent 20.7 million euros for a reported gain of 25 million new player registrations, although this may not bring joy to titles such as Diggy’s Adventure which saw a decrease of 3.6 million euros in sales and 400,000 players lost.
In a statement COO Daniel Duranka said, “The year 2022 with revenues of 47.4 million euros completed a successful three-year period, during which we changed from a 30 million to a 50 million company. However, the second half of 2022 and the year 2023 are already marked by a macro crisis (war, inflation, energy crisis) and it will be a great challenge to maintain our positions.
“It is very difficult to grow every year, it is very difficult to multiply the company’s income every three years. But blaming external factors or avoiding challenges has never been a part of our DNA. That is why we will work even harder towards our long-term goal: a 100 million euro company,” he added.
Microcosm
Being the biggest Slovakian mobile game developer it’s encouraging to see Pixel Federation remaining profitable and growing in some areas. However, despite encouraging news of investment across mobile gaming, it also shows that the industry is not yet immune to slump after the halcyon days of Covid peaks which let them capitalise on a captive audience.
Pixel Federation also celebrated their 15th anniversary in 2022, alongside news that their climate pledge had resulted in 86,000 new trees being planted. It indicates that companies don’t feel the need to lower their wider priorities despite challenging macroeconomic circumstances, and hopefully with the increase in investment and adaptation to the post-Covid market, we’ll see this only as a momentary bump in the road for developers like Pixel Federation.
