Plariuim’s new CEO, who is he and what does this mean for us, if anything?

On the 16^th of January 2023, Plarium issued a statement announcing Schraga Mor as their new CEO following on from Aviram Steinhart who stepped down from the role after more than 8 years with Plarium, just over 2 of those serving as CEO.

Plarium is a company whom we all love to hate, but let’s be honest, even if not everyone likes their major pay-to-win attitude, we can’t deny that they really are revolutionising the mobile gaming industry since becoming a part of the Pixel United Portfolio in august 2017. In 2018 they launched Raid: Shadow Legends which currently ranks number one in the squad RPG category in the US and has created over $1 billion in lifetime revenue. In 2019 they released Plarium play which currently amasses close to 30% of their total revenue, and in 2021 Plarium made a successful entry into the action genre with mech arena.

Who are Plarium?

Plarium global ltd has over 435 million gamers worldwide spanning over 20 diverse games ranging from RPGs to casual adventure games including titles such as Raid shadow legends, which let’s be honest, with their incredibly aggressive marketing tactics, even your grandmother knows raid, Vikings: war of clans, lost island: blast adventure, mech arena and the storm fall franchise. The App Store and google play regularly feature games made by Plarium and even Facebook has recognised them twice as a top hardcore facebook developer. Plarium employs more than 1300 specialists at their headquarters, six offices and development studios worldwide and continues going from strength to strength.

Plarium games are available on IOS android, pc and Plarium play.

Plarium is a part of pixel united, the global mobile-first games publishing business of aristocrat leisure limited.

Who are pixel united?

Pixel united is a top publisher in tier 1 western mobile markets, they are driven by “a purpose to build the best games and drive positive change”

Pixel currently have three major operating businesses spanning multiple key gaming genres – product madness based in London, plarium global based in Israel and big fish games based in USA, along with a global team of 3000 people worldwide.

Who is Aristocrat Leisure Limited?

“At Aristocrat, our mission is to bring joy to life through the power of play”

Aristocrat Leisure LTD is an Australian gambling machine manufacturer founded in Sydney in 1953 and currently headed by Trevor Croker CEO. Today they have offices in Sydney, South Africa, Russia and the USA. Aristocrat is the largest gambling machine manufacturer in Australia and one of the largest manufacturers of slot machines in the world.

Aristocrat started out making slot machines and other gambling machines and found global success in 1979, so how on earth have they branched into mobile gaming? Short answer, they bought their way in.

• July 2014 Aristocrat Leisure LTD bought Video Gaming Technologies for approximately $1.3 billion, VGT are responsible for a lot of fan favourite casino games like Lucky ducky® and Mr. Money bags® and develop casino games for class II gaming markets in the US. VGT were founded in 1991, in Tennessee by Jon Yarbrough, and since being bought out by Aristocrat have increased their gambling machines in North America from 8,200 to 28,400.
• August 2017 Aristocrat Leisure LTD bought Plarium, for $500 million and an earn–out arrangement to shareholders.
• November 2017 Aristocrat Leisure bought Big Fish games for $990 million, Big Fish Games, founded in 2002, are a Seattle based mobile ‘tap’ gaming company responsible for smart phone favourites such as EverMerge, Gummy Drop and Cooking Craze.
• August 2021 plarium purchase d, a Helsinki based mobile game studio founded in 2015 by a team of five Finnish gaming veterans, Futureplay are the creators of games such as Idle Farming Empire and Battlelands Royale.

TLDR, Aristocrat Leisure LTD made some very smart purchases which allowed them to move from casino machines into gaming as we know it today, including our much beloved Raid: Shadow Legends.

Who is Schraga Mor?

Schraga Mor is a seasoned business leader of over 20 years with plenty of experience in the technology, digital and e-commerce industries. Mor has worked at companies such as William Hill as their managing director, MSN Israel as CEO and most recently SodaStream where he has headed the company’s e-commerce operations since 2020.

Mor holds an executive Bachelor of Arts in business administration from the Ruppin academic centre. He will assume his position as CEO of Plarium at the end of February 2023 and will be based in their new state-of-the-art headquarters in Herzliya, Israel.

Michael Lang, CEO of Pixel United issued the following statement:

“Schraga has a proven track record in building and scaling successful multi-million dollar companies and mobile-orientated brands. With a deep understanding of digital commerce, marketing and product development, as well as a strong appreciation for Plarium’s people-first culture, we are confident Schraga is the right person to lead Plarium in its next exciting chapter and continue to set the industry bar in key genres and cross-platform gaming.”

Following his appointment, Mor commented “I am delighted to join a company that has helped shape and define the mobile and PC games industry for more than a decade, and a business I have admired for many years. I look forward to working with Plarium’s talented global teams to build upon the strong culture and momentum to help the business reach new heights.”

So, what does this mean for us and what will change?

Honestly, we don’t know, no one does, unless you happen to have a handy crystal ball – if so, fancy letting me know who will win the free to play series ;)