Mobile game powerhouse Kabam is announcing today that it will bring its free-to-play games to Microsoft’s Windows tablets and phones next year.
The broad-reaching deal represents a diversification move for Kabam and it is an important victory for Microsoft’s mobile Windows business, which is the underdog compared to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms.
As part of the deal, Kabam will port its line-up of games over to Windows tablets and phones. Those titles include Fast & Furious 6: The Game, Dragons of Atlantis: Heirs of the Dragon and The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth. Going forward, Windows users will be able to play future Kabam games in the same time frame as other platforms.
“Kabam’s goal is to be the free-to-play games leader across all mobile platforms,” said Kent Wakeford, Chief Operating Officer of Kabam. “Collaborating with Microsoft to put Kabam games on Microsoft mobile devices is a further step toward Kabam’s platform ubiquity.”
Windows Phone is the No. 3 smartphone operating system, and it grew 91 percent in 2013, according to market researcher IDC. The analyst firm predicts that Windows Phone will grow at the fastest rate from 2013 to 2018, at a compound annual growth rate of 28.1 percent.
“Kabam is a leader in free-to-play games with a strong record of delivering game experiences that people love,” said Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president and chief evangelist, developer experience and evangelism at Microsoft. “Bringing its existing franchise games as well as future hit titles makes the Windows ecosystem even more robust. In return Kabam will enjoy unmatched monetization opportunities, such as our industry-leading 61 carrier billing connections in 36 markets.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Microsoft will feature all new Kabam games and major updates, and Kabam will include the Windows Store badge alongside other platform partners in its promotions for Kabam games.
Kabam reported revenues of $360 million in 2013 and it now has 800 employees.