Skillz Breaks Records: Reaches $100 Million Annual Run Rate with Explosive Mobile Esports Growth

Mobile esports continues its meteoric rise as the platform powering these competitive experiences has demonstrated unprecedented growth. Skillz, the mobile esports infrastructure provider, announced today it has achieved an annual run rate exceeding $100 million in revenue – a significant doubling of its previous metrics within just eight months.

A Game Changer Platform for Mobile Esports

Founded in 2012 and based in San Francisco, Skillz provides the essential technology layer to transform any mobile game (on iOS or Android) into an esports platform. This allows developers to introduce competitive elements including cash prizes, tournaments, and leaderboards.

CEO Andrew Paradise highlighted these impressive figures: “It took us over 36 months to hit our initial \(50 million annual run rate milestone, but just eight months from that point to reach the additional \)50 million. This incredible pace underscores how rapidly mobile esports is evolving on Skillz’s platform.”

Capturing a Growing Esports Market

Skillz reported $20 million in revenue for 2015 and grew this figure nearly threefold by reporting $54 million in 2016 – representing a significant increase of approximately 170 percent year-over-year.

The platform’s market share is equally compelling: Skillz held just 8% of the esports prize pool in 2014, increased its share to over 21% in 2015, and ultimately surpassed expectations for 2016 by accounting for over 46 percent of all mobile esports prizes.

According to market research from Newzoo (released around this time), the overall esports economy was projected to grow significantly. Skillz is uniquely positioned at the forefront of this expansion as it focuses on integrating competitive mechanics into popular mobile games, tapping directly into the massive growth of mobile gaming itself – which now accounts for half the total global gaming market.

Expanding Beyond Traditional Esports Audiences

Skillz has ambitious goals to mainstream esports further. It’s recognized that traditional esports audiences remain heavily skewed toward male players (historically around 85 percent). However, Skillz is actively broadening its appeal:

• User Base Growth: Reaching over 11.9 million users since June 2016 (a ~32% increase in six months)
• Gender Balance Shift: Increasing female players from 49% to now representing the largest demographic of Skillz’s user base.

This shift is significant for democratizing esports, moving it beyond its traditional niche and potentially reaching a broader casual gaming audience. Another key indicator: average daily engagement per player has climbed steadily – from over 50 minutes in Q2 2016, to exceeding 61 minutes as of March (just past the coveted one-hour mark). This compares favorably against major social platforms.

Developer Success Stories

The platform’s success isn’t just limited to its own metrics; it demonstrably drives growth for game developers who integrate Skillz features into their titles:

• Tether Studios’ Solitaire Cube saw a dramatic improvement in retention, with 64% returning after day one – significantly better than the 50% seen at day seven.

  • Daily active users increased substantially.
  • Average revenue per daily active user jumped from ~2 cents to over 40 cents, representing more than an 1800% increase

• Game Masons’ Mini Golf Stars experienced notable improvements:

  • Day-seven retention reached 27%, substantially higher than before.
  • ARPDAU increased significantly (over ~40 cents).
  • The game’s ranking in the U.S. app store improved dramatically, from No. 136 to reaching position No. 12 at its peak.

These case studies illustrate how competitive features powered by Skillz can inject new energy into existing mobile games.

A Platform for Over 3000 Studios

Skillz currently powers esports tournaments across more than 3,000 game studios’ titles, ranging from casual games to established franchises. While founded in San Francisco just five years ago, the platform’s rapid scaling has attracted backing from owners of major sports teams.

The Future is Mobile Esports

Paradise emphasizes that Skillz isn’t just following market trends but helping create them:

• “Every six months or so, the projections for mobile esports growth are growing.”
• ”[Mobile esports] speed with which it’s growing is mind-blowing.”

He frames this evolution as potentially transformative: “You see more casual games adding esports features… It’s like the birth of television or the NFL launching in 1919. You’re seeing some of the same kind of changes where content becomes institutionalized and monetized.”

The platform’s continued expansion suggests mobile esports is poised for significant mainstream adoption, with Skillz at its technological epicenter.

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