Get ready, New York, to host the next Candy Crush Saga mobile gaming sensation.
Startup incubation firm Betaworks is seeing dollar signs just two weeks after releasing TwoDots, a new mobile game created by Betaworks’ gaming studio Dots, which is located in the Meatpacking District.
After launching on Apple’s App Store for iPhones on May 30, TwoDots quickly soared to the No. 1 spot for free downloads. To the surprise even of Dots CEO Paul Murphy, the mobile game then stayed in the top spot for nearly two weeks until Wednesday afternoon when FIFA’s app moved up in the rankings ahead of the World Cup starting on Thursday.
According to Murphy, no free mobile game has ranked No. 1 for so long, with the exception of “Flappy Bird,” which took over the charts for three weeks earlier this year.
“From what we’ve seen, there haven’t been many other games that have had as quick of an uptake,” Murphy told The Post.
That’s not all. TwoDots boasts 6 million downloads since its launch, which puts it on track with Candy Crush Saga when it first went mobile in 2012.
King Digital Entertainment’s popular game boasted 10 million downloads in December 2012 — its first full month on mobile. In 2013, it became Apple’s most popular free app.
The early signs of success have Murphy dreaming of running the next billion dollar mobile gaming company.
“In all honesty, I think it would be limiting to say we’re the next Candy Crush Saga,” said Murphy, who is also a partner at Betaworks, an investment and incubation firm for startups.
“There is room for many big companies in the space, and I think we will be one of them,” he said.
Like a lot of mobile games, Dots expects to make money off in-game purchases. The game is a follow to Dots’ first game, also called Dots, which has users connect similarly colored dots, like a puzzle.
The new game intends to keep users coming back by presenting increasingly difficult challenges.
Murphy said the Dots team, which has 12 employees, celebrated with a rooftop lunch at the Brass Monkey restaurant the day after they went live and quickly hit 1 million downloads. But it has been all work and no play ever since — thanks to their rapid success.
“We had like an hour to celebrate,” Murphy said.
