Nazara Technologies buys US gamification platform WildWorks for $10.4 million

Mobile gaming and sports media platform Nazara Technologies said on August 30 it has acquired WildWorks, a US-based children's interactive entertainment company, for $10.4 million in an all-cash transaction.

Nazara will acquire 100% stake in the company and its intellectual property from shareholders. In the stock filing, it said $10.4 million will be paid to WildWorks's creditors in cash, and the stockholders will not receive any consideration for the acquisition.

Founded in 2003 by Kris Johnson, Clark Stacey, and Jeff Amis, WildWorks is a game development studio focused on gamified early learning for 8-12-year-olds. The company claims that its mobile apps have attracted over 150 million players in the past decade.

Two of the founders - Stacey who is WildWorks' chief executive and Amis who serves as chief operating officer - will remain with the company in their current positions.

WildWorks' flagship title is Animal Jam, an online playground for kids who love animals and the natural world, created in association with National Geographic. Available on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, the game features world building and multiplayer games in a moderated social play space and offers free STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics)-oriented educational content that players can access in the app and through the AJ Academy website.

The company revenue is on the decline. WildWorks clocked $13.8 million revenue for 2021, down from $18.6 million in 2020 and $20 million in 2019. For the first half of 2022, it posted revenues of $5.8 million.

Core profit was $3.1 million for 2021, down from $4.9 million in 2020 and $4.7 million in 2019. For the first half of 2022, it was $1.6 million, as per regulatory filings.

“With its strong brand presence and talented Utah-based development team, WildWorks enables us to solidify our leadership position in the gamified learning space for kids,” said Nazara founder Nitish Mittersain.

"The 8-12-year-old player demographic of Animal Jam builds on the success of our Kiddopia early learning product for kids aged two to seven. Successful brand partnerships like Tag with Ryan also showcase the potential for leveraging the WildWorks platform in new categories," he added.

Following this acquisition, WildWorks plans to localise Animal Jam apps for new territories and develop new apps and interactive experiences with the brand.

Stacey said, "We immediately resonated with the Nazara team and respect the commitment they’ve already made to kids through Paper Boat Apps and Kiddopia."

With this acquisition, WildWorks will join the company's Friends of Nazara network that includes Nodwin Gaming and SportsKeeda in esports segment, Next Wave Multimedia, developer of World Cricket Championship (WCC), the largest mobile-based cricket simulation game, Paper Boat Apps, developers of the popular gamified learning app Kiddopia, Halaplay, Qunami and OpenPlay in the skill based real money gaming vertical and programmatic advertising and monetisation company Datawrkz.