Clash Royale maker Supercell described the game as a “huge hit”, as 2016 marked the company’s best year so far in financial terms.

The company posted net income of €917 million, up from €848 million in 2015, while revenue was essentially flat at €2.1 billion, Reuters said.

Clash Royale
The game is a follow up to the hugely popular Clash of Clans. Released in March 2016, it grossed more than $1 billion (€936 million) in 11 months, according to app store market intelligence company Sensor Tower.

An earlier report said it had earned around $1.4 million on launch day.

The reason for its success is that Supercell built upon its brand and understanding of what engages mobile gamers and keeps them spending, the analytics company said.

Clash Royale grossed approximately five times as much as Clash of Clans did during the comparable period.

“Even considering the lack of an Android version of Clash of Clans in its first six months, the difference is staggering,” Sensor Tower said adding the contrast: “indicates how far the freemium model’s ability to generate revenue has come in four years.”

Freemium games are free to download and generate revenue from in-app purchases.

Clash Royale took a hit in player spending during the first two months following the release of Pokemon Go last July, but since September it hasn’t left the top ten grossing iPhone apps on the US App Store, Sensor Tower said.

“With a continual string of new content, special events and improvements being introduced, it doesn’t appear to be giving up ground anytime soon”, it added.

However, IHS Technology analyst Jack Kent told Reuters: “the overall mobile games market is still increasing, but the explosive growth driven by the rise in smartphone penetration and the shift to a freemium model is slowing.”

Kent added Supercell “is still making a lot of money” but noted the company “is also facing the challenge of hot to follow up on its initial major hits,” Reuters said.

Supercell results
According to Reuters, the Tencent owned company’s CEO Ilkka Paananen said: “In the summer, when Pokemon Go was a huge hit, a taxi driver asked me what would be our counter-attack. I said there’s no point in doing something against a competitor, we must only focus in doing what we do best, improve our games further.”

Paananen said the company might test a new game in selected markets later this year, but there were no immediate plans.