JAGEX ACHIEVES FOURTH SUCCESSIVE YEAR OF GROWTH WITH RECORD REVENUES OF £92.8 MILLION DRIVEN BY RUNESCAPE FRANCHISE SUCCESS & EXPANSION TO MOBILE
Jagex revenues increased 9.3% year-on-year, delivering best-ever results
Jagex has revealed it achieved record-breaking financial performance in 2018, with revenue growing by 9.3% to £92.8 million. Profits before tax also grew to £46.8 million, representing an annual increase of 3.8%. The results capped off a year in which the RuneScape franchise achieved its highest ever paid membership total and Old School RuneScape’s launch on iOS and Android enjoyed more than five million installs.
Phil Mansell, Jagex CEO, said:
“2018 was Jagex’s fourth successive year of significant growth, with our highest ever active players, revenues and profitability, all while increasing inward investment to power future growth. The successful release of Old School RuneScape on mobile is a major step in our company transformation plan; expanding our expertise to mobile, becoming a pioneer in cross-platform play, and increasing the reach of the RuneScape IP. 2018 also showcased our approach to ‘living games’ – sustaining deep long-term engagement by working closely with our player communities.”
“This lets us accelerate Jagex’s transformation; we have strengthened our leadership team and will continue to build on the company’s talent base, we are funding new game development, building out our third-party live game publishing, investing in massive publishing platform upgrades, whilst continuing to expand our live RuneScape games.”
In addition, throughout 2018 Jagex grew its team by more than 100 people and investment in research and development grew by 69%. It also announced its Jagex Partners initiative, which will deliver live game publishing and operational services tailored specifically to the needs of third-party studios.
Lisa Pan, Chairman of Jagex, added:
“Jagex has delivered multiple years of sustained and meaningful growth through its pioneering leadership in the live game sector. Now in its fourth year of successive growth, Jagex has increased revenues by 46.3% since 2015 to deliver this best year on record. Jagex is today a powerhouse in its field; the team’s ability to focus and deliver on Jagex’s living games philosophy is driving success and it continues to grow a business that can attract the best partners and a place where the very best talent wants to work.”
Yuanhui Huang, Director and Company Secretary at Jagex, said:
“In 2018, the RuneScape franchise had its best year on record. The arrival of Old School RuneScape on mobile was a significant growth catalyst and, by combining a highly customer-centric mindset with operational excellence, we saw long-term player retention, high rates of returning players and robust recurring revenues from membership. Jagex continues to flourish, deliver remarkably high levels of profitability whilst significantly increasing inward investment to build longer-term growth opportunities for the future.”
About Jagex
A leader in creating deep and engaging live games, Jagex’s flagship MMORPG, RuneScape, has welcomed more than 260 million player accounts to its world. Today the RuneScape franchise exists beyond running games in live operations; our titles are living games that connect and inspire millions of players, with content and experiences both inside and outside of inexhaustible game worlds. Both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, on PC and coming to mobile, offer ever-evolving, highly-active worlds and our community-focussed development ethos empowers players to have a real say in how each game is shaped. Jagex Partners was launched in 2018 to expand and extend the Jagex portfolio with fresh franchise titles and new IP to bring life to the living games of the future. Jagex employs more than 360 people at its Cambridge headquarters. In 2016 Jagex became part of Fukong Interactive Entertainment, a global games group publicly listed in China. More information can be found at www.jagex.com
