Playdots

About Playdots

Playdots, Inc. is a mobile games studio operating within the casual, free-to-play segment of the market. The company was established in New York City in 2013 by co-founders Patrick Moberg and Paul Murphy. The initial game, "Dots," originated as an art project within the incubator and investment company Betaworks. Moberg, an illustrator and web developer/designer, and Murphy, who had a background in computer engineering and experience at Microsoft and as a partner at Betaworks, combined their skills to launch the venture. The first game, released in April 2013, gained considerable traction, achieving over one million downloads within its first week.

The company's portfolio includes three main puzzle game titles: "Dots," "Two Dots," and "Dots & Co." Collectively, these games have been downloaded more than 100 million times. "Two Dots," launched in 2014, became the studio's most prominent success, accumulating over 80 million downloads and generating $15 million in revenue in its first year, a significant increase from the original "Dots" game's $1 million in the same timeframe. The business model is centered on free-to-play games, with revenue generated through in-app purchases and advertisements, such as rewarded ads that offer players in-game items for watching. Playdots utilizes ad mediation platforms like AdMob to manage its ad inventory and maximize revenue.

A significant milestone in the company's history was its Series A funding round in December 2014, where it raised $10 million, with Tencent and Greycroft as lead investors. This was followed by a major corporate event in August 2020, when Take-Two Interactive acquired Playdots for $192 million. The deal consisted of $90 million in cash and $102 million in Take-Two stock, aiming to strengthen Take-Two's position in the mobile gaming sector. Following the acquisition, Playdots continued to operate under its CEO, Nir Efrat, who joined in 2018 after a tenure at King, the creator of Candy Crush. The entire team of approximately 70 employees was integrated into Take-Two.