Playrix has become Europe’s quiet giant in mobile gaming

In the $36 billion mobile gaming market, Russian developers and publishers are on the rise. And one of the fastest-growing companies is Playrix, which quietly became the No. 2 game publisher in Europe in mid-September, according to market researcher App Annie.

Playrix is a rare company because it has produced three international hits (Township, Fishdom, and Gardenscapes), and it has also been successful self-publishing its games in China and Japan — a rarity for non-Asian game companies. Rather than make fancy high-end games, Playrix specializes in casual titles such as match-3 games and town simulations. Those hits have helped it become one of Russia’s fast-growing companies.