Indie studio Mighty Kingdom has started the process of going public on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). While seeing video game and hardware companies on the stock market is normal in overseas markets, it’s not something we really see locally.
Mighty Kingdom to go public
Established in 2010, the Adelaide-based company is the biggest independently run gaming studios in Australia, with over 70 employees and 20 shipped titles. It produces games for PC, consoles and mobile and has collaborated on projects with LEGO, Disney and Snapchat.
Some of its titles include Conan Chop Chop, Ava’s Manor and LEGO Friends Heartlake Rush.
Mighty Kingdom founder and CEO, Phillip Mayes, told the AFR that more people are gaming than ever due to COVID-19. And the proof is in the numbers. In the 2019-2020 financial year Mighty Kingdom booked $2.8 million in revenue. For the 2020-2021 financial year the aim is jumping to $12 million.
Mayes still plans on holding on to his 73 per cent majority stake in Mighty Kingdom. The aim of the public offering is to raise capital and accelerate the growth potential of the company.
“The ultimate value of Mighty Kingdom doesn’t come in an IPO process, it comes 10 years down the track,” Mayes told the AFR.
“I’m here for the long haul.”
There’s no date for the ASX listing as yet, however the company is currently finalising its $3.5 million debt package. There are plans to then have an initial public offering by either the end of the year or early 2021.
Aussie video games and the ASX
Mighty Kingdom isn’t the first Australian video games developer to aim for the ASX off the back of COVID-19. Last month, Playside Studios seemed to being preparing a $50 million public listing for the fourth quarter of 2020.
According to the AFR, the studio completed a $3 million pre-IPO round of funding back in September. Playside is said to have booked $7 million revenue in in the 2019-202 financial year, which was a 65 per cent year-on-year increase.
Playside games include The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, AR Dragon, Kubo A Samurai Quest, the Dumb Ways to Die.
Here’s to hoping that multiple IPOs in the Australian dev space means that the attitude towards video games and its potential as a financially viable industry is changing at a local level.
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