- London-based gaming studio Fusebox announces the launch of the company’s new game - Matchmaker
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At the same time, it announces significant new investment and a focus on further releases with co-development partners to continue producing award-winning, industry-leading content at scale
30 June, London: Fusebox Games, the creator of the interactive fiction game Love Island: The Game is announcing its first new game launch since 2018. Matchmaker’s launch was announced as the company said it had raised new investment and was reviewing its operating structure to focus on a co-development model for future releases.
This proposed change will enable Fusebox to launch new interactive fiction titles and scale the business, by making the company more agile. The company is working through the impact on staff in its current internal studio as it looks to re-orientate its operating model.
Tapping into the explosion of interactive fiction
Fusebox, which was founded in 2016, has previously focused on using its own internal studio to build games based around existing intellectual property such as Love Island: The Game. After growing Love Island: The Game to 16 million global players and over £25 million in revenue, the team is now also focusing on building its own original games, intellectual property and interactive stories whilst continuing its successful partnership with ITV on the globally successful Love Island IP.
The first game announced as part of this new strategy is the free-to-play Matchmaker: Puzzles and Stories. This game was developed by Fusebox’s in-house team, using their expertise in interactive narrative and deep data-driven knowledge of their audience, in partnership with a specialist partner studio.
Matchmaker features both original content as well as stories from the hit ITV Love Island show, puting players at the heart of love stories and adventures, and giving them the opportunity to create and customise their character who will feature in these stories. The game is available to play now in the UK on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and will be released to global audiences later this summer.
The interactive fiction game subgenre has enjoyed a healthy growth in recent years. Data from Sensor Tower shows the total value of downloads in 2020 was worth $244 million, with year-on-year growth of 31% since 2018. Matchmaker capitalises on the popularity of interactive fiction games, combined with Match 3 gameplay found in games like Candy Crush Saga and Gardenscapes. This type of game has proved a particular hit with Fusebox’s audience, and in particular with women who make up 85% of Fusebox’s players.
In the first half of 2021, Fusebox has also raised an injection of funding from both new and existing investors which will help fuel its growth plans in the coming months.
Wil Stephens, co-founder and CEO at Fusebox Games said: “2020 was a transformative year for the whole games industry. While people were stuck at home they relied on interactive mobile games like never before and their appetite for them has not diminished. There have been record numbers of interactive game downloads and purchases of video games, demonstrating how critical mobile and interactive gaming is to many people’s lives. Responding to this demand was no easy task but our team found a way to keep creating cutting-edge creative content that excites our audiences.”
“We have been trying to produce more original content for some time but now we have a route to do so and the new cash injection and continued support from respected investors across the media and gaming industry, will help us strengthen Fusebox Games and unlock new opportunities and partnerships.”
“Our world leading product, marketing and data teams are excited by the opportunity to develop additional new titles with a proposed co-development model that will enable us to scale faster and be more agile in meeting the needs of our audience.”
Will van Rest, ITV Director of Games, Live and Merchandising added: "Love Island the Story Game has been a smash hit with audiences with over 16 million downloads since its launch in 2018. Having a second flavour of the product within the Matchmaker app introduces a broader audience with its Match 3 style game mechanics.”
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About Fusebox Games:
Based in London, Fusebox creates unforgettable story-driven games that bring moments of magic to everyday life for millions of players around the world.