Pretty much every gamer has heard about Clash of Clans at some point in their life, whether it be from browsing through the App store or watching one of the many TV adverts for the game that air. That would be because it’s hugely popular and has generated huge sums of money for its developer, Supercell.
The game has made so much money that it led to Japanese firm SoftBank buying a majority stake in the studio, and despite Clash of Clans’ popularity declining somewhat recently (it’s still hugely popular though!), developer Supercell is estimated to be worth a staggering $5bn. The company’s latest title is Clash Royale which sits comfortable at the top of the highest-grossing apps.
As a result, its developers are millionaires, as you’d expect. In fact, they are so rich that between several of its executives who pay tax in Finland, they have increased the country’s total revenue from capital gains tax by a fifth, which has helped boost Finland’s economy as a result.
Supercell executives Mikko Kodisoja and Ilkka Paananen have paid €54 million each following SoftBank’s acquisition of a majority stake in the company. The tax paid by Mikko Kodisoja and Ilkka Paananen is the single highest individual tax contributions in Finnish history.
Paying taxes is something everyone should do, regardless of how much they earn, but it seems that Supercell’s executives are being praised for doing just that rather than trying to avoid paying the full amount of tax which has been making headlines across the world in the recent weeks and months.
SoftBank has put its stake in Supercell up for sale now and are open to offers from buyers. If they find a buyer, they are expected to receive billions of dollars for their sale.
Source: *Eurogamer
Via: *GamesIndustry.biz