Jagex, the award-winning developer and publisher of the RuneScape videogames, has revealed its fifth successive year of growth with revenue increasing by 19.4% year-on-year to £110.9million in 2019. Operating profits also grew to just over £48.9million, representing an annual increase of 4.5%. The results, which saw Jagex grow even faster than in the prior financial year, come as the company’s storied RuneScape living game franchise enters its 20th year in live operations.
- Revenues jump almost 20% year-on-year, delivering best-ever results
- Total subscribers for the year soar by almost half a million
- Employee count grows 11% with key talent added to the team
Phil Mansell, Jagex CEO, said:
“Jagex continues its journey of growth and investment and 2019 was an extraordinary year as we welcomed more players to our living games of RuneScape and Old School RuneScape than ever before, taking the company over the £100m+ revenue mark for the first time in our history. Attracting more players and, importantly, keeping our loyal gaming communities excited and engaged for the long-term speaks to the success of our living games ethos. This is the bedrock of our strategy and it is built on putting players first. In turn, this has attracted world-class talent to further bolster the amazing Jagex team and fuel further success.”
Alongside commercial success, some of the key milestones reached in 2019 were:
- An all-time membership high for its RuneScape games on desktop and mobile platforms
- Old School RuneScape achieved its highest ever daily active players
- Old School RuneScape on mobile won a BAFTA for EE Mobile Game of the Year and was named Best Mobile Game at the Develop Stars Awards
- RuneScape Mobile launched in Early Access
- Raised £261,692 for charity and won both the Charity Times Corporate Community Local Involvement award and the Gamesindustry.biz Best Places to Work CSR award
- Investment in talent saw the year end with 377 Jagex employees, up from 337 at the start of 2019, with an emphasis on product and technical leadership
Mansell continued:
“Following record levels of investment in 2019, we continue to invest in improving the player experience and bringing the RuneScape universe to more players globally. Jagex is extremely robust and I’m excited about our prospects as, especially in these difficult times presented by the pandemic, we continue to connect and inspire players as we head towards the 20th anniversary of RuneScape in January 2021.”
Jagex responded quickly and decisively in the face of the unexpected coronavirus pandemic, transitioning its game development, publishing and live operations teams to remote working. Jagex also announced a string of additional player-focused initiatives during the crisis, and, together with RuneScape and Old School RuneScape players, raised and donated a combined total of £204,000 to support the work of its mental health charity partners through the pandemic.
Mansell continued:
“We continue to enhance our live games services and seek to expand their availability to more potential players across more devices, distribution platforms and regions as we transition to a multi-product and multi-platform studio. We are also increasing investments in further growth, which will include our talent base, technology, new games, pursuing publishing opportunities and forging strong partnerships with likeminded companies. It’s an immense privilege to work alongside the talented people at Jagex, whose hard work and dedication, alongside our fantastic players, is the backbone of the company’s success.”
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