Amsterdam, 24th June 2021 – Azerion, the fast-growing digital gaming and monetization company, today announces the acquisition of WHOW Games, a top German gaming developer and well-known publisher of online free-to-play social games.
This major deal – after the company’s successful EUR 200M financing announcement in April– will expand Azerion’s already extensive gaming portfolio and is expected to open up new exciting investment and production content opportunities for advertisers and publishers in the premium gaming segment*, in the DACH region and globally.
WHOW Games enjoys historical partnerships with some of the biggest agencies, advertisers, TV broadcasters and media companies in the DACH region. With strong revenue and profit growth in 2020, WHOW Games represents the biggest gaming acquisition for Azerion so far in 2021.
This acquisition offers WHOW Games the ability to take advantage of Azerion’s growing ecosystem while giving publishers the opportunity to expand their game communities, increase their in-game monetization and strengthen their game development capacity.
WHOW Games’ high-quality social games are expected to be integrated by Azerion publishing partners in their own digital environments. They provide added entertainment value within such partners’ environments for users, while providing additional and long-term monetization opportunities from these environments. The deal should provide Azerion advertisers with access to the premium publishers network from WHOW.
With the acquisition of WHOW games, Azerion makes another huge leap to accelerate its growth strategy. This is a strategic acquisition for our premium segment, it is expected to bring added value for our ecosystem due to the increased number of games and publishers our partners can work with. Azerion strives to become a one-stop-shop for digital games distributors, content providers and advertisers. Together with WHOW, we will take our game distribution platform to the next level, says Atilla Aytekin, CEO of Azerion.
After years of stellar growth, WHOW Games today occupies a leading position within the German market. Our prime position and partnerships in the region and Azerion’s expertise in long-term monetisation both companies are expected to supplement each other. We see this deal with Azerion as the logical move in our development, as the company is poised to further expand its presence in the DACH region and become an European champion, comments Heiko Hubertz, Founder & Executive Chairman at WHOW Games.
*premium gaming segment: Highly engaged and loyal user base that creates revenue mainly through in-app purchases.
About Azerion
Azerion is a fast-growing and leading pan-European digital gaming and monetization company. Azerion develops and operates a safe and reliable online social gaming and entertainment platform for people of all ages to enjoy. Its integrated platform includes monetization features and provides technology solutions to automate the purchase and sale of digital advertising for media buyers and sellers. Content creators, publishers and advertisers work with Azerion to reach millions of people across the globe that play its games and use its entertainment concepts to increase engagement, loyalty and drive e-commerce.
Founded in 2015 by two Dutch entrepreneurs, Azerion has experienced rapid expansion thanks to organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Azerion employs more than 980 employees across 20 offices and is headquartered in Schiphol-Rijk, the Netherlands.
About WHOW Games
WHOW Games is a leading developer and publisher of online free-to-play social games. The company, based in Hamburg, Germany, has been bringing highly engaging social games to the web browser and app stores since 2015. Its innovative social gaming platform is a fast growing gaming destination in Europe and serves millions of users with long-lasting fun.