Huuuge, a global developer and publisher of free-to-play mobile games, has acquired the hit game Traffic Puzzle from Picadilla Games, a Polish studio based in Wrocław. The acquisition marks the first significant milestone for the company’s growth and M&A journey, as Huuuge expands its reach into the high-growth casual games segment. The total consideration of this acquisition is $38.9m USD.
“This is very exciting. Traffic Puzzle is an original puzzle game that has quickly grown to be our third-largest game and given the unique match-3 type of experience it offers, what we’ve seen so far has been just a beginning.” said Anton Gauffin, founder and CEO of Huuuge. “The puzzle category in which Traffic Puzzle competes accounts for over half of the $10.6 billion casual game market, and our increased activity in the category is important to strategic goals. We are buying a winning product that we have come to know very well as its publisher, and we therefore have a very high level of confidence in its growth potential. By acquiring the game from our partner, we will be able to accelerate the growth of Traffic Puzzle thanks to our capabilities, leading F2P know-how and technology. The decision to acquire Traffic Puzzle, a game from within our publishing portfolio, clearly demonstrates the benefits of our Build & Buy strategy and how Huuuge Publishing serves us as a unique and advantaged M&A funnel.
Traffic Puzzle was initially developed by Picadilla Games sp. z o.o., a Polish studio based in Wrocław. Traffic Puzzle’s daily active user (DAU) count doubled in 2020 relative to 2019 and its revenues tripled in the same period. The average daily revenue of Traffic Puzzle grew from approximately USD $12,900 in September 2020 to approximately USD $100,000 a day at the time of signing.
In the game, the player attempts to clear a blocked road by matching three cars of the same colour. The game offers various levels, in which players help police cars, fire engines and ambulances reach their destination, assist helicopters and trains in breaking through blockades,
and otherwise ensure the smooth flow of traffic. Traffic Puzzle employs a Free-to-play business model and revenues are mainly generated through in app purchases.
The game launched in May 2019, and is available on the Apple App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore platforms.
Jon Bellamy, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development, said: “The acquisition of Traffic Puzzle solidifies Huuuge’s position in the high-growth casual game segment and enables the Company to accelerate its revenue diversification initiative. We anticipate that the positive financial contributions of Traffic Puzzle as a result of the acquisition will be most visible in 2022 and beyond.”