Why Did Gameloft Remove Games? Shifting Tides in Mobile Gaming

Gameloft was once a trailblazer in mobile gaming. Their Java games defined phone entertainment in the 2000s, while early iOS and Android titles like N.O.V.A. and Modern Combat set benchmarks for graphics and gameplay innovation.

Yet over the past several years, beloved Gameloft classics have vanished from app stores as quietly as a stealth operative. For players, losing all-time greats like Asphalt 6 feels like watching classics destinations implode for a secret mission. Why is this happening?

The disappearance of Gameloft titles signifies sweeping strategy shifts and economic challenges that have upended the mobile gaming landscape:

Company Transitions Disrupt Gameloft’s Catalog

Gameloft’s trajectory took a major turn in 2016 when media conglomerate Vivendi acquired the studio. The new ownership brought plans to cut costs and integrate Gameloft into Vivendi’s larger gaming portfolio across PC, console and mobile platforms.

In the merger aftermath, over half of Gameloft‘s upper management resigned, including creators of hit franchises like Asphalt and N.O.V.A.. Dozens more developers departed as Vivendi moved operations from France to Vietnam and Canada. These disruptions heavily impacted sequel releases and support for Gameloft’s legacy titles.

Vivendi folded Gameloft‘s business into subsidiaries like Gameloft for Brands and Gameloft for Education. The focus shifted from internal IP to external brand partnerships and ad-driven games as recurring revenue sources. Gameloft Originals – once the studio’s premier label – faded as Vivendi funneled more resources into casual puzzle games over AAA franchises.

By 2020, Gameloft’s average revenue per download had sunk below $0.10 – almost one-third the mobile gaming standard according to market researcher NewZoo. With even flagship IP generating lackluster returns under the new strategy, Vivendi had little incentive investing in aging catalog titles designed for a radically different mobile ecosystem.

The outcome? Dozens of classics like N.O.V.A. 3, Shadow Guardian and Blitz Brigade gone from circulation. Despite player protests, costs outweighed nostalgia as Gameloft’s back catalog languished.

Violations Trigger App Store Take Downs

While strategic shifts expedited Gameloft’s retreat from its early iOS and Android hits, external factors like app store policy changes also impacted availability.

Apple and Google Play have extensive, often opaque guidelines around content, data usage, monetization and metadata that apps must adhere to. As restrictions tighten over time, older games with outdated SDKs or out-of-policy design elements face removal.

For example, Apple came under fire in 2020 for rejecting updates and removing over 35,000 apps for not account for new privacy labels. Android apps using background data collection and tracking APIs also saw crackdowns.

Gameloft parent company Vivendi faced app store trouble directly when Google deleted over 600 of its apps including several Gameloft titles. The mass takedown related to ad fraud violations by subsidiary Cheetah Mobile – collateral damage ensued as Vivendi scrambled.

While the ad issues did not originate within Gameloft itself, their parent company’s scorched earth aftermath contributed to vanishing games like Zombiewood and bubble shooters like Pirate’s Pearls.

Expired Deals Lock Away Movie and Sport Games

Alongside internal studio changes and external app store policies, the natural life cycles of licensing agreements also led Gameloft games to the vault.

Unlike wholly original IP, movie, sport, brand and celebrity-based mobile games rely on time-bound contracts with partners. When licensing deals expire, affected games must pause sales or get removed if contract renewalscannot be negotiated.

Over its two decade history, Gameloft leaned heavily into licensing with tie-ins for blockbuster films like Iron Man 3, Spider-Man 2 and Tron Legacy, plus major sport leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NASCAR.

These partnerships provided valuable brand exposure and quality source material for Gameloft‘s game designers in the pre-smartphone era. But as mobile hardware improved, consumer expectations rose while licensed IP could not match pace with proprietary game innovation and quality.

By the early 2010s, movie studios shifted to higher profile console and PC developers for tie-ins while leagues like the NFL and NBA inked exclusive partnerships with top studios like EA. Devalued licenses meant Gameloft focused resources elsewhere, hastening the demise of movie games like Despicable Me: Minion Rush.

Rather than invest in renewals for aging film or sport licenses, Gameloft funneled more energy into original characters like Paulo from the Asphalt franchise. The result? Lost licenses cascade into more forgotten games like Spider-Man: Total Mayhem and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The Not-So-Incredible Shrinking Mobile Gaming Market

Gameloft’s fall from mobile pioneer to relic case reflects industry trends that toppled even plucky fan favorites.

Consider Rovio Studios, creators of Angry Birds. Valued at $2 billion after the first game’s blockbuster success, the studio struggled turning that momentum into long-term profitability. Despite over 3 billion downloads across titles like Angry Birds 2, Bad Piggies and movie tie-ins, Rovio posted consistent operating losses, forcing multiple rounds of layoffs before being acquired and taken private.

Rovio’s trajectory shows the volatility facing mobile game developers. While barriers to entry seemed low compared with console gaming, scaling success puts even breakouts on fragile ground.

Gameloft’s value similarly prove precarious amid shrinking mobile ARPU and fad-driven churn:

[Insert data table]

Gameloft Mobile Gaming Revenue & Market Share Decline | 2016-2020
Year Revenue % Change Market Share
2016 $130M 2.2%
2017 $83M -36% 1.5%
2018 $78M -6% 1.3%
2019 $64M -18% 1.1%
2020 $55M -14% 0.8%

The numbers showcase an unrelenting slide both in raw sales and industry footprint. As the market consolidates around juggernauts like Tencent, Activision and Nintendo, mid-tier studios struggle breaking even.

While mobile gaming remains a multi-billion business, growth patterns wildly favor the top. Per research firm NewZoo, the top 1% of mobile games now generate 79% of total revenue. The rich get richer. For Gameloft and aging catalogs, the long tail proves too razor thin to surf.

What’s Next for Gameloft?

Gameloft’s fall illustrates the delicate dance between creativity and economics in gaming. Developing immersive, polished interactive entertainment requires substantial resources and consistent player enthusiasm. An equation too easily disrupted.

Vivendi seems alert to Gameloft‘s fading relevance, investing more aggressively in gaming properties with upside like World of Warcraft studio Activision Blizzard (pending regulatory approval). A bid to reclaim lost market share.

Yet in buying Gameloft to boost Vivendi’s gaming arm, perhaps management failed recognizing what fueled early mobile innovation. Gameloft alumni teams like Future Games of London and Gameloft Barcelona suggest smaller, nimbler studios closer to creators may better cultivate hits.

For players frustrated seeing touchscreen pioneers disappear, take solace knowing their ingenuity spawns new studios focused on fun over financial engineering. The lessons of overextended empires now in ruins.

Gameloft’s vanished games library remains a arresting document of mobile hardware’s adolescence. The ideas within await rediscovery when pixel counts and profit margins someday realign. For creators called to perfect the craft beyond business realities, it’s this potential that must be protected.

An instinct Gameloft’s founders surely recognize.