Kingmakers and Hello Neighbor publisher tinyBuild has released its financials for 2023, and they paint a pretty gloomy portrait for the studio.
In its yearly financial summary, tinyBuild reveals that its revenue declined 29% in 2023 when compared to 2022, and that the studio suffered an operating loss of $64 million last year.
tinyBuild puts the drop in its revenue down to an “expected drop in large contracts”, by which it means “subscription programs, development partnerships, and exclusivity agreements”.
Additionally, tinyBuild says that its 2023 releases accounted for only 8% of its overall revenue for the year, with back catalog games from 2022 and before making up 92% of its total revenue (when compared to 80% in 2022).
This is despite the fact that 2023 saw the launch of games like Punch Club 2, Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, and Farworld Pioneers, among others. It is worth noting, though, that two games tinyBuild specifically names as back catalog successes, Potion Craft and Hello Neighbor 2, launched at the tail end of 2022.
Despite its gloomy year, tinyBuild is optimistic about its 2024 pipeline. The studio says it has a “strong” upcoming lineup of games, and that “a number of larger-budget” titles, i.e. games with a budget greater than $1 million, are on the way.
CEO Alex Nichiporchik says that 2023 was a “tough year” across the gaming industry, but that his studio is seeing some success in its “shift towards the 1000-hour game”.
This statement refers to a desire on tinyBuild’s part to emphasize games that can be played repeatedly for hundreds and even thousands of hours, rather than games players play once and then discard.
Nichiporchik names games like Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Counter-Strike as examples, and says that his studio is looking to capitalize on this aspect of the industry with upcoming games like chaotic battle sim Kingmakers and “Extraction-style horror title” Level Zero: Extraction.
We’ll have to wait and see if this strategy pays off, but for the time being, tinyBuild seemingly has something of an uphill battle to restore itself to good financial health in 2024. Stay tuned for more.
