Scopely doubles its commitment to Barcelona with a €13.5 million investment

BarcelonaIt all started with a team of five employees in a coworking space, and now there are 700. The American video game company Scopely settled in the Catalan capital in 2017, after visiting several European cities, to establish its technology headquarters. "They helped us the most in Barcelona," said Javier Ferreira, the multinational's co-CEO, at the inauguration of its new headquarters this Monday.

Since then, they have outgrown the various offices they have been renting and have just opened their fourth, with 8,500 m² in the heart of 22@, doubling the surface area they had until now. After an investment of 13.5 million euros, they have consolidated the city as the company's main center in Europe. "When the project started, we never thought we would fill all that space, and now we are worried that it will become too small," adds Ferreira.

Scopely is the name behind mobile phone games like Monopoly GO!, Scrabble GO, Stumble Guys and Star Trek Fleet Command. Recently purchased Niantic, the studio behind the creator of Pokémon GO!With centers in Barcelona and Seville, it has become the largest video game company in Spain, where it has a thousand employees, and is looking to hire another 50. Founded in 2011 in California and with almost 3,000 workers, it also has offices in Europe in Dublin, Dundee, and London.

"Barcelona is a key element for the company. It's where we're growing the most," the executive emphasizes. From here, some of these video games are operated and new ones are developed, a process that takes between three and four years and can reach up to seven years, as was the case with its version of the traditional MonopolyThe Barcelona offices also house the global headquarters of the multinational's technology platform and marketing agency. With half of the international workforce, representing more than 100 nationalities, developers, engineers, and artists mingle at the 22@ headquarters.

The games sold by Scopely are free to download. The company's revenue comes from premium features that customers can purchase to improve their game play and from the advertising that appears during games. Their audience spans all ages, and they've managed to attract more women. They aim for players to log in every day and prefer that they don't get bored playing for many hours just once. "We earn through calm, regular, and long-term use," explains Ferreira. Scopely currently does not have an ethics committee to prevent harmful behavior among its users, such as excessive consumption that can lead to addiction.

Barcelona has long claimed to be one of the main hubs video game development. According to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Promotion and Employment, Raquel Gil, this industry has more than 200 studios and employs more than 4,600 workers. "Scopely is a path to success," said the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, also present at the opening of the new offices on Monday.

Although Spain makes a very important contribution to the group in terms of technological development and employees, it is not as significant in terms of revenue. The United States and European countries are Scopely's largest markets. Purchased by the Savvy Games group—owned by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund—the multinational recorded revenues of $3 billion (around €2.6 billion at the current exchange rate) last year. With video games as the flagship product of the entertainment sector, Scopely attracts around 500 million players annually, many of whom spend more than a year playing.