Squad
GameBy Offworld
92 documents in the library are about Squad, from writers such as Deconstructor of Fun, PocketGamer.biz and Two & a Half Gamers. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
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The documents about Squad on the inner ring, the other games and companies they name on the outer one. Select a cover to see it up close and open it in a new tab; drag to move, pinch or Ctrl + scroll to zoom.
Key figures from the reports
Supercell is discontinuing Squad Busters on December 14th, marking its first global launch failure despite the title reaching 58 million downloads and $67 million in lifetime revenue.
PocketGamer.biz, 2026 · Why Supercell couldn’t save Squad Busters and Google's AI game maker | Week in Mobile Games podcast, p. 16
The $150 million failure of Squad Busters demonstrated a disconnect between early beta metrics and long-term retention, revealing that the company initiated marketing pushes before achieving sufficient product validation.
Deconstructor of Fun, 2026 · Clash Royale's Fake Comeback? The UA Pop-and-Drop Debate, p. 21
Warner Bros. games revenue dropped 48% for the quarter ending March 31, 2025, primarily due to the underperformance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Sparkers, 2025 · Mid-May 2025 Video Game Industry Insights: Revenue Shifts and New Ventures
Squad Busters achieved 40 million pre-registrations and generated 839,000 hours watched during its full release week, followed by 2.6 million hours watched since launch.
Stream Hatchet, 2024 · Supercell’s Biggest Year: Squad Busters and SuperFest 2024
On Steam
Steam estimates as of 9 Oct 2026. Revenue is premium revenue on Steam only: game sales, without DLC.
- Revenue to date
- $240.3M
- Units sold
- 7.4M
- Last 12 months
- $21.8M
- 710K units
- Price
- $39.99
- Positive reviews
- 81%
- of 245K reviews
- Peak players
- 39K
- at the same time
- Followers
- 739K
- Average playtime
- 120 h
| Year | Share of the best year | Revenue | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $11.2M | 422K | |
| 2020 | $27.9M | 887K | |
| 2021 | $23.0M | 698K | |
| 2022 | $32.7M | 896K | |
| 2023 | $41.7M | 1.2M | |
| 2024 | $36.9M | 1.1M | |
| 2025 | $30.1M | 911K | |
| 2026 so far | $15.5M | 500K |
On Steam since Dec 14, 2015 · Developer OffworldSteam store page
Documents about Squad
Why Supercell couldn’t save Squad Busters and Google's AI game maker | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The mobile gaming landscape is currently defined by a tension between established intellectual property expansion and the integration of generative artificial intelligence.
- Supercell is discontinuing Squad Busters on December 14th, marking its first global launch failure despite the title reaching 58 million downloads and $67 million in lifetime revenue.
- Squad Busters failed to sustain long-term engagement due to a combination of convoluted gameplay mechanics and ineffective monetization strategies.
- Google’s Playground is attempting to democratize game development through text-to-game generation, though current iterations lack the mechanical depth and visual variety to compete with professional ecosystems like Roblox.
🚨📢BREAKING NEWS: New Adnetwork AdSURGE is here, Supercell Kills Squad Busters, Ubisoft Quits Mobile
The mobile gaming industry is currently experiencing a significant shift characterized by the emergence of new ad-tech infrastructure and a wave of high-profile project cancellations.
- Miniclip, in partnership with Tencent and Easybrain, has launched AdSurge, a new ad network leveraging first-party data to compete in the mediation and ad-tech space currently dominated by AppLovin and Unity.
- Supercell is shutting down Squad Busters, with the game being pulled from stores on December 1 and servers closing on December 14, marking a rare global launch failure for the studio.
- Ubisoft is exiting mobile game development in Europe, highlighted by the closure of its Helsinki-based studio RedLynx and the cancellation of Rainbow Six Mobile.
What’s going on at Rovio, Miniclip’s new ad network, Squad Busters’ last rites, RedLynx closes, more
The mobile games industry is currently undergoing a period of significant restructuring, characterized by studio closures, project cancellations, and a strategic pivot toward established intellectual property.
- Mobile game spending declined by 7% in Q3, with only three of the top 20 grossing titles being less than two years old, highlighting a significant barrier to entry for new games.
- Major publishers are aggressively pruning portfolios, resulting in the cancellation of Supercell’s Squad Busters, Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Mobile, and Fingersoft’s Lego Hill Climb Adventures.
- Ubisoft is closing its Helsinki-based studio RedLynx as part of a broader industry trend of studio closures and project cancellations.
Wardogs: Steam Launch Analysis
The tactical shooter Wardogs achieved a significant commercial milestone during its September 2026 Steam early-access launch, selling 2.2 million copies and generating $70 million in revenue within its first week.
- Wardogs achieved a successful Steam early-access launch, selling 2.2 million copies and generating $70 million in its first week.
- The game outperformed the launch-period sales of other $40 titles, specifically exceeding Arc Raiders (1.7 million copies) and Helldivers 2 (1 million copies).
- Wardogs converted 11% of its 1.8 million wishlisters into buyers within the first seven days, significantly higher than the typical 5% industry average for AAA games.
Why Everyone Wants A 'Live-Service' Game
The video game industry has increasingly pivoted toward live-service models as a strategic response to the rising costs and inherent volatility of AAA game development.
- The shift toward live-service models is primarily a strategy to mitigate the extreme financial risk of modern AAA development, where production costs have ballooned from $20–30 million to a $200–300 million floor.
- Live-service games provide recurring revenue streams that stabilize companies against the volatility of a hit-driven industry, preventing total reliance on the success of a single, infrequent release.
- The industry's pivot was heavily influenced by the massive success of Fortnite, which demonstrated the profitability of free-to-play models combined with ongoing monetization through skins, seasons, and content updates.
Clash Royale's Fake Comeback? The UA Pop-and-Drop Debate
The annual letter from the CEO of Supercell serves as a strategic reflection on the company’s performance, characterized by a near-record revenue year despite a 4% decline.
- Supercell experienced a near-record revenue year despite a 4% overall decline, highlighting the company's struggle to maintain growth in a mobile market expanding by only 3% annually.
- Clash Royale’s reported 500% growth in new player acquisition and doubled re-engagement are attributed by critics to aggressive user acquisition spending rather than organic product improvements.
- The $150 million failure of Squad Busters demonstrated a disconnect between early beta metrics and long-term retention, revealing that the company initiated marketing pushes before achieving sufficient product validation.
TWiG #370: Supercell’s Annual Letter, Reading Between the KPIs
The global gaming industry is currently defined by a stark consolidation of market share, where established live-service titles dominate revenue and monthly active users across PC and console platforms.
- Supercell’s Squad Busters failed to achieve long-term viability despite reaching 75 million downloads and receiving a $100 million marketing investment.
- Supercell is restructuring into a startup-like model with tighter budgets and profit-sharing to address internal complacency and move away from a reliance on high-spend user acquisition.
- Roblox is struggling with low unit economics and market saturation due to a user base primarily under the age of 18, prompting a strategic pivot toward older, higher-income demographics.
NRG Sold to DarkZero in Undisclosed Asset Sale
The esports organization NRG has been acquired by Las Vegas-based DarkZero in an undisclosed asset sale, as announced in December 2025.
- NRG has been sold to Las Vegas-based esports organization DarkZero in an undisclosed asset sale, as announced on December 19, 2025.
- The acquisition includes the transfer of NRG’s teams, staff, and brand, with DarkZero expected to maintain existing partnerships with sponsors such as ASUS ROG, Spectrum, and the Army National Guard.
- NRG founder Andy Miller will remain with the organization in an advisory capacity, while he and existing investors will retain ownership of the separate gaming and entertainment division, Full Squad Gaming.
Why is Google policing how the world's top mobile games monetise? | Week in Mobile Games podcast E72
Google and Epic Games have proposed a tiered fee structure for the Play Store that distinguishes between cosmetic items, taxed at 9%, and gameplay-advantage items, taxed at 20%.
- Google and Epic Games have proposed a tiered Play Store fee structure that charges 9% for cosmetic items and 20% for items providing gameplay advantages.
- An analysis of the top 50 mobile games shows that every title currently employs monetization mechanics, such as loot boxes or boosters, that would trigger the higher 20% fee.
- Direct-to-consumer revenue streams are gaining traction, evidenced by Playtika reporting 20% growth in this sector during the third quarter through strategic entertainment brand partnerships.
Epic-Google shenanigans, EA payouts, Squad Busters, Take-Two, Playtika, Rainbow 6, Horizon, more
The mobile gaming industry is currently navigating a period of significant structural and financial shifts, characterized by high-stakes legal developments, major executive compensation disclosures, and evolving platform strategies.
- Take-Two Interactive's mobile segment accounted for 46% of its net revenue in Q3 2025, signaling a shift where mobile performance is outpacing the company's console portfolio.
- Gaming-related digital advertising spend reached $8.7 billion during the first three quarters of 2025, highlighting the growing importance of ad-based revenue streams.
- Legal proceedings indicate that the proposed Epic Games-Google settlement is unlikely to be approved, as critics argue the terms disproportionately favor Epic's business model over broader industry reform.
Inside Squad Busters’ $150 Million Experiment
The launch of Squad Busters represents a significant pivot in Supercell’s historical strategy, moving away from its traditional, cautious soft-launch model toward a high-budget, cinematic global release.
- Supercell invested approximately $150 million into Squad Busters, including $65 million for user acquisition, $40 million for marketing and talent, and $40 million for development.
- Despite generating 60 million downloads, the game yielded only $70 million to $80 million in net revenue, failing to achieve long-term commercial sustainability due to poor retention.
- The project marked a strategic pivot for Supercell, moving away from its traditional, cautious soft-launch model toward a high-budget, cinematic global release to test organizational risk-taking.
Driving RPG Publishing Decisions with Sensor Tower Insights: Thailand and Taiwan
This analysis provides a strategic framework for RPG publishers to optimize market entry, monetization, and user acquisition in Thailand and Taiwan.
- In Thailand and Taiwan, MMORPG, Idle RPG, and Squad RPG subgenres currently hold the largest download shares, while Action RPGs show consistent growth potential in both markets.
- Survival games primarily utilize Season Pass, Loot Box, and Subscription monetization models, whereas Squad RPGs rely on Season Pass, Subscription, and Gacha mechanics.
- The Action RPG 'Crystal of Atlan' demonstrated strong market entry in Thailand following its May 12, 2025 release, capturing over 80% of its total downloads within the first two weeks.