The Chinese publisher bought the Finnish game after the success of its pirated version
Game pirates usually bring losses to developers, but there are exceptions. The Finnish studio Immobile Games profitably sold SkidStorm mobile racing to the Chinese publisher Cheetah Mobile after the pirated version of the game unexpectedly became a hit in China.
The amount of the deal was not disclosed, but Immobile Games co-founder Aapo Lehikoinen called it “too good an offer to refuse.”
“This will allow us to expand the company and give us enough time to develop new products,” Lehikoinen said.
Skidstorm appeared in early access on Google Play. Soon after, the pirated version of the game unexpectedly gained viral popularity on Chinese mobile software exchange sites.
This drew the attention of Cheetah Mobile, who first signed a contract with Immobile Games to publish Skidstorm, and then bought the franchise in full.
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