Team17 sees trading soar as people turn to video games during the pandemic

The Wakefield-based firm, best known for the Worms video game franchise, maintained sales growth across its portfolio in the six months to June 30.

The group reported record revenues, which rose 3 per cent to £40m over the six month period, whilst pre-tax profits rose 5 per cent to a record £14m.

Team17 said it benefited from the one-off impact of global lockdowns, which drove demand for video games as a result of the pandemic.

Its back catalogue delivered revenues of £36m, up from £33.5m in the first half of 2020.

Team17's chief executive, Debbie Bestwick, said: “Our performance during the first half of this year is a testament to the continued commitment and passion of our teamsters and label partners.

"I am delighted to report we’ve been able to continue the trend of delivering improved year on year results, specifically considering the corresponding half record set the previous year, which benefited from the one-off impact of the global pandemic and large swathes of global lockdowns.

“Alongside the acquisition of the GWYF IP in January, the recent acquisition of StoryToys improves the breadth of our offering across the gaming space and brings an exceptional team with additional skill sets into the group."

Ms Bestwick said the group has strengthened its Games Label team with a high profile executive hire in Michael Pattison, who joins from Sony Interactive Entertainment as CEO of Team17's Games Label from next month.

"Alongside Emmet O’Neill, CEO of StoryToys, we are building a truly remarkable senior leadership team to help deliver on our shared vision for the future of the group," she added.

“Sadly, earlier this year we said goodbye to one of our teamsters, Troy Horton, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly and we’d like to dedicate this year to him and the amazing legacy he leaves within each of us. He was a UK gaming legend but also an inspiration to each and every one of us here at Team17.

“I’d also like to thank our exceptional business partners who over the last 18 months have worked tirelessly to ensure we have delivered our games on time in very challenging times.”

Looking ahead, the group said it has a solid pipeline of game launches scheduled and it will also benefit from a full six month contribution from StoryToys.

The firm said that StoryToys is a world class developer and publisher of "edutainment" apps for children under the age of eight.

Team17 said that the global video games market continues to perform well. A recent report from Newzoo forecasts that the market will generate revenues of just over $175bn in 2021 – flat when compared to 2020’s exceptionally strong year – but will return to growth again to be worth in excess of $200bn in 2023.

Team17 launched six new titles in the first half of the year, including Rogue Heroes, Narita Boy, Before We Leave, King of Seas, Hokko Life and Super Magbot.

Alongside the new titles, Overcooked! All You Can Eat was launched in March across Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam, and Worms Rumble launched on Nintendo Switch in June.