The latest game created by Dunedin game studio Runaway Play overtook global giants such as Fortnite, Candy Crush and Among Us on just the first day of its launch.
Preparing to celebrate with dragon-themed cupcakes yesterday morning while watching the statistics continue to rise , chief executive Zoe Hobson said the response to Hatch Dragons had been huge.
Within 24 hours, it was No 1 on the US Apple App Store, above Among Us and other globally recognised games, eighth in casual games in the US, ahead of Candy Crush Saga, and in the top 16 across all top free games in the US, above Fortnite.
‘‘It’s our biggest launch by far and literally numbers are just going up by the minute,’’ Ms Hobson said.
‘‘This success is the result of a huge amount of hard work, learning from other launches, passion and creativity,’’ she said.
Set in a mystical forest, Hatch Dragons was a collection-focused dragon game, which replaced battle and combat with nurturing and care, she said. Incorporating Runaway Play’s brand value of ‘‘inspired by nature’’, each dragon was inspired by the flora and fauna of the natural world.
Players collected elements and gems to summon dragon eggs, hatch them and raise their dragons. As the dragons grew, players uncovered snippets of lore about each species, deepening their connection to the forest.
In a world where artificial intelligence was increasingly used, games that were hand-crafted and ‘‘genuinely beautiful’’ stood out, Ms Hobson said.
She was heading to the United States next week to attend a game developers’ conference in San Francisco and spend time with partners Runaway Play worked with. Rather than immediately moving on to the next project, the plan was to look at what else could be added to Hatch Dragons.
