Wix Games, the gaming division of website builder platform Wix, was created through the company‘s strategic acquisitions of game developers and technology starting in 2010. The pioneering founders of Wix saw the potential to expand beyond websites into gaming to engage their user base.
Wix co-founders Avishai Abrahami, Nadav Abrahami and Giora Kaplan started Wix in 2006 as a way for people without coding skills to easily build HTML5 websites. The platform quickly gained popularity for its user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and stylish templates.
With a vision of growing Wix into much more than just a site builder, the founders made a pivotal move in 2010 to acquire Games, an early-stage startup focused on HTML5 game development. This kicked off Wix‘s expansion into gaming by allowing users to embed games into their Wix sites.
Acquiring the Building Blocks for Wix Games
The Games acquisition brought in creative talent well-versed in using new web technology like HTML5 for gaming. Wix continued making strategic purchases to assemble the staff and technology needed to execute their gaming ambitions.
Some of the key acquisitions that formed the foundation for Wix Games include:
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Soyatec (2011) – Added mobile app and game development skills with over 300 employees. Soyatec‘s HTML5 game engine technology became the core of Wix‘s gaming platform.
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Appixia (2013) – Provided expertise in mobile commerce and games. Appixia‘s apps reached over 80 million downloads worldwide.
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DeviantArt (2017) – Wix‘s largest acquisition to date at $36 million. The online community of over 325 million pieces of gaming/digital art expanded Wix‘s reach.
These purchases combined with Wix‘s robust website platform enabled the company to evolve into a multifaceted technology business. With the pieces in place, Wix launched the Wix Games unit to create and release titles like the Duck Life series.
Wix Games Leadership Under James Palmer
Leading Wix Games today as CEO is industry veteran James Palmer. Palmer‘s experience includes working at gaming giants like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.
Colleagues praise Palmer‘s vision for crafting mobile games with "sky-high retention rates" and understanding of casual gaming audiences. Under his leadership, Wix Games has expanded to over 60 employees and produced its biggest hit to date, the racing game Gardenscapes.
Analyzing Wix‘s Place in the Gaming Industry
Wix offers a unique approach to gaming compared to rivals. While companies like Zynga and Playtika rely on a single big-budget title, Wix Games places bets on a diverse portfolio.
This strategy has allowed Wix to cost-effectively release over 50 smaller games in various genres. Screenmedia analyst Stephen Stanford remarked: "Wix Games provides a clear contrast to the ‘all your eggs in one basket‘ method with more flexibility to pivot."
Wix now boasts an impressively large catalog of games considering its short history in the market. The company has benefited from leveraging user-generated content from the DeviantArt community. This access to a pipeline of gaming artwork and concepts enables Wix to rapidly test and launch new titles.
Gaming also differentiates Wix from other website builders like Weebly and Squarespace which lack strong gaming offerings. This gives Wix a competitive edge in attracting younger demographics.
Conclusion: An Indication of Things to Come
Wix‘s origin story in gaming reveals acalculated approach by its founders. They made smart acquisitions to assemble gaming production resources before launching Wix Games.
Today, Wix sits in a strong position to continue growing in the $200 billion gaming market. Under the leadership of industry veteran James Palmer, expect to see many more great games from this platform started by three ambitious founders just over a decade ago.
