Hyper-casual mobile game (HCG) publisher and social instant-play gaming company, Storms, has announced an exclusive partnership with Halfbrick Studios, an Australia based indie game developer, to convert popular mobile hit games – Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride – into social instant games’ format with original core gameplay and assets.
While smartphone penetration rate continues to rise in the developing world, mobile internet connectivity access levels remain below a third for the emerging markets. Storms’ mission of making mobile games accessible to seven billion mobile users worldwide means that for the first time, the poorly connected demographic within emerging markets get to access top marquee games, whereas the young and older demographics from developed markets with digital literacy gaps can play games on a web platform without having the need to download from app stores.
The team is also in the works of incorporating a social element for both Halfbrick classics within its instant gaming ecosystem to further enrich gaming communities’ overall experience. For the first time ever, Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride fans will get to participate in friendly tournament modes to compete on their scores. Both games will be made available in April 2021 on Storms’ social instant gaming Android app and web platform, as well as exclusive partner platforms in emerging markets.
Storms CEO David Yin said, “2020 was a year that brought gaming to the forefront for game developers around the world. As we continue to advance into 2021, collaborations such as this partnership with Halfbrick Studios are critical cornerstones for Storms to make game experience inclusive. We are extremely proud to elevate emerging markets’ mobile gaming experience to the highest standards through frictionless gaming on marquee titles combined with social play elements.”
“Slicing” A New Space for Social Instant Games
Halfbrick Studios is well acquainted in the gaming scene as the creator of the massively popular Fruit Ninja, a mobile app game that launched in 2010 and became a cultural phenomenon with downloads exceeding One billion before its fifth birthday. According to mobile consultancy App Annie, Fruit Ninja is the number one most downloaded iOS gaming app across 141 countries in the Casual category and the title has also led to a Fruit Ninja comic miniseries from Dynamite in 2017.
Building on the success of Fruit Ninja, the studio released Jetpack Joyride in 2011 which has subsequently grown to 750 million+ downloads. The runner action video game was also highly reviewed with a 9/10 score rating on GameRankings, Eurogamer, IGN and PocketGamer. It was subsequently awarded for the Best Action/Arcade game, Best Overall Game on PocketGamer and Apple Design Award during WWDC 2012.
Halfbrick Studios CEO and founder Shainiel Deo, reaffirms the studio’s interest in linking hands with Storms and says, “This joint-partnership with Storms to develop next-gen instant games is a game-changer to original games’ player longevity, and reinforces our mission to make mobile games easier to discover and to play.”