Why one studio is still plugging away on new Facebook games

The commonly held belief among industry observers is that gaming on Facebook is on the decline. Big companies like Zynga and King are still making money on the platform, but they’re more focused on mobile. Developer Plarium doesn’t care about that trend.

Plarium released its fifth Facebook title today. The real-time strategy sim Sparta: War of Empires is the latest addition to the developer’s library of apps targeted at “hardcore players” on the social network. It has gamers taking control of Greece to fight off an invading Persian military force while also building and maintaining a city. All of this action takes place from an isometric perspective with simple 2D art. It may not sound like much, which prompts the question: Why is Plarium even wasting its time? Well, it isn’t. The company confirmed to GamesBeat that each of its previous four releases performed better than the last, and it believes that it can continue that trend with Sparta.