HTML5 social games?

4 December, 2022

Quicksave Interactive has raised $1.3 Million to create HTML5-based social gaming experiences that can be accessed on all platforms.

These apps are short and easy to use, and can be used within a messaging or chat platform like Viber or Facebook Messenger. HTML5 is the web's lingua-franca. It has seen significant improvements in performance, so game developers can now create better games using the technology. HTML5 games can run on the web just as well as native apps.

That's why CEO Elina Arponen, her cofounders Ville-Kalle Arponen (creative Director) and Timo Kamarainen (“chief technology officer”) decided to start a new studio to capitalize on the opportunity. They worked together previously in Tribe Studios, a PC-focused gaming company. Palringo bought it in 2015. Quicksave Interactive was founded by them in 2017 to create HTML5 games as well as game development tools.

Arponen stated, “We were thinking about how we could take those kinds of games to mobile devices.”

Konvoy Ventures led their seed round, which also included participation from Sisu Game Ventures and Raptor Group. This idea is becoming more popular as game developers are no longer willing to pay their 30% fees for app platforms like Apple's iOS or Google's Android.

Social apps now offer HTML5 games. HTML5 games can be played right within your favorite social apps like Facebook, Snapchat and WeChat. Players don't need to download anything new to their phones and can play over the internet with their friends. You can also skip the shops. This is one of the reasons that Playco, a rival company, was able to raise $100 million for social instant games.

Gaining momentum

Arponen stated that the space is gaining momentum in a way not seen by many companies in the industry. This was easy to overlook because Facebook games were already a decade old and HTML5 was considered a tech fad. Quicksave believes that HTML5 with WebGL and modern smartphones can offer high-quality gaming experiences comparable to those found in app stores.

Mobile networks are becoming faster, and the infrastructure required to support HTML5 games is lighter than for cloud streaming services.

This market works in a different way than the earlier games on Facebook. You can make your games more viral by using messaging platforms on smartphones instead of desktops.

Quicksave sees social games as an evolution in communication. From pure text to animated GIFs and videos, we have now moved on to emojis, images and animated GIFs. How can games be used to enhance the communication of your message? Quicksave is eager to answer that question.

This space is moving towards games with longer playtime that keep players interested for longer periods of time. Mobile games are already seeing their platforms stay top-notch for many years.

Platforms open for post-app stores

The app store's user acquisition costs continue to rise. Social apps are a new way of reaching out to players, where it is easier to build virality. Due to the shorter user acquisition process, user acquisition costs tend to be lower. When an ad is displayed on the same platform as the game embedded, users only need to click it once to get to the game.

We've also seen Epic Games protest against 30% fees paid by platforms like Apple or Google.

Arponen stated, “I'm very curious and I follow the news.” “Regardless of what, this market is maturing and growing. The quality is improving and the business models starting to work well. It would make things more interesting if some things were possible on iOS phones. The games are comparable in quality to those found on mobile apps stores, but they could have more social features.

HTML5 is a universal platform that can run on any platform. It also allows developers to be free of charge and has no platform fees. Arponen stated that the appeal of the platform comes from a combination of all these factors.

Arponen stated that one of the most exciting things about the new messaging platform is its ability to integrate with it. This is the next level in communication. This opens up new design possibilities. Social functions can help you achieve virality. Because the funnel is smaller, user acquisition is cheaper. You can simply click on the ad to go directly into the game if you have an advertisement. You will experience less friction.

She said, “We can avoid friction if we are within the app that people already use on their phones.” It is much easier to distribute the content. It is easier to share the content. The platform users are the ones who get to design the game.

More tools

Quicksave developed its own game development tools to address the HTML5 quirks. It has optimized the speed at which iterations can be completed and the amount of meta and content it can include in its games. Quicksave has reached a point in which the core development challenge no longer lies with the tech, but rather the content and how to create a new era for social play.

Quicksave employs nine people, most of them in Helsinki.

Arponen stated that “we will have an office” and that although it is still a small group, it will be easier to work together.

It also offers a Russian game, Viber and Facebook. She said that Facebook will be the largest partner in the short-term. She stated that the company is looking at Snapchat and WeChat, even though they don't yet have games.