Gameloft 2010 Revenues Up 16 Percent On App Store Strength

With company sales on Apple's iOS App Store up an impressive 63 percent in 2010, casual and social developer Gameloft has announced revenues for the year were up 16 percent over 2009, to $141 million. Growth was stacked at the end of the year for the developer, with fourth quarter revenues up 25 percent compared to 2009, while first quarter revenues showed only 7 percent growth. The Paris-based company, founded by Ubisoft co-founders Yves and Michael Guillemot, partially attributed its growth to strong international sales, with 25 percent of 2010 revenues coming from North America and 35 percent from the rest of the world. But iPhone sales were the big driver of Gameloft's 2010 numbers, the company said, adding that recent and future releases of other smartphones should help continue that growth into the future. The company also expressed excitement about expanding its game offerings to new tablet and smart TV platforms in the coming year, and said it was "in an ideal position to benefit from the rapid emergence of the digital distribution of video games on mobile phones, tablets, TVs [and] consoles." Full 2010 results for Gameloft will be made available after the close of the markets on March 23.