Looking back on 10 years of Clash of Clans
Believe it or not, Clash of Clans turned 10 this August. That means Supercell's blockbuster mobile strategy game franchise has lived through three console generations, helped kick off a sea of change in the mobile game business model world, and even outlasted Quibi (low bar there, we know).
When the game first launched in 2012, just 122 million Americans owned what were being categorized as "smartphones." Now, much of the mobile phone ecosystem is on iOS, Android, or a similar platform, and over 270 million Americans use these devices. For better or worse, Clash, its spin-offs, and competitors rode that increase in smartphone users to the top of the charts, changing how mobile players would want to interact with games.
The series has established new best practices for everything from UX design to app icons, and set the standard for how the real-time strategy genre would make the jump to mobile devices.
What's it been like for the team at Supercell? Stuart McGaw, current game lead on Clash of Clans, has only been with the series since 2017, but he's seen enough of the game's evolution to reflect on its success. Here's what he had to say looking back on 10 years of Clash's success in the mobile game market.
Early adopters of smartphone technology in the 2010s probably already owned a laptop, desktop, or game console at home, but as these advanced phones went wider and wider in the market, they became the first game-playing device for a large number of players. McGaw said that Supercell has always been conscious of the fact that Clash of Clans might be someone's first video game—and that's true for children and adults.
"There was that real focus on simplicity and accessibility," he observed. "That stuck with Supercell. You have
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