A Dunedin gaming studio is continuing its runaway success since dropping its publisher.
Runaway director Tim Nixon said business had been going well since it dropped its San Francisco-based publisher DeNA and moved the work to Dunedin.
The studio - a division of NHNZ - has published two games based on natural environments.
More than three million people had download the game Flutter: Butterfly Sanctuary on Android and iOS since it launched in February 2013.
"It had its biggest day in revenue earlier this year - it's pretty crazy - and we think there is a lot of life left in it.''
The game Splash: Underwater Sanctuary had had more than a million downloads since its release in April this year, Mr Nixon said.
Since Splash was "overhauled'' and relaunched last month its player numbers and revenue had increased 600% worldwide.
Both games were based on the model of raising and collecting animals, but Splash was sea creatures instead of butterflies.
The company made money by giving away the app free, but offering people the option of paying to speed up the game's progress.
Advertising had been recently introduced to Splash and had been working well.
Advertising would be introduced to Flutter next week, he said.
Since the publisher was dropped in September, the studio had been in control of the entire process, including customer support and marketing.
"The move to self-publishing gives us a direct connection to our fans.''
The move made it easier to refine the product and retain players, he said.
This year, the company doubled its staff from 10 to 20.
Since self-publishing, customer support, marketing and quality assurance staff had worked in the office in Melville St with the game developers, Mr Nixon said.
Of the 20 staff, 17 were based in Dunedin.
A producer worked from the United States and two artists worked from Europe.
"It is tough to find really good talent in New Zealand.''
About 10 more staff would be employed next year and the company had no intention of leaving Dunedin, Mr Nixon said.
Gaming studio Runaway
• Started six years ago in Dunedin.
• Has two free-to-play live games, Flutter and Splash featuring real-life creatures.
• The games have been downloaded more than four million times, mostly in the United States.
• Revenue made from premium game content and advertising.
• More than 100,000 players in a day.
• Players spend a combined three years of play time in the games each day
• Doubled its staff numbers this year.
