The creators of Space Ape Games’ popular music rhythm game Beatstar have spun the title out into a dedicated music-gaming company called NEXTBEAT.
The move follows Supercell‘s full acquisition of Space Ape Games in November 2024 – a deal which is expected to close in the spring.
Beatstar was launched globally in 2021 after five years of development within Space Ape Games by a team that included Simon Hade as COO and co-founder of the studio, and Olly Barnes, who led music strategy and rights acquisition.
Barnes is the co-founder of Voisey, a music-making app that Snapchat acquired for $70 million in 2020. Snapchat later offloaded Voisey in 2022 as part of Snap Inc.’s wide-scale restructuring.
Beatstar is a free-to-play mobile game often compared to Guitar Hero. It features over 850 global music hits secured through music licensing deals with major labels, indie publishers, and dozens of rightsholders.
In September 2022, MBW reported that Beatstar shared USD $16 million of its revenue with music labels and publishers in the first year since its launch.
Those rightsholders include Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, BMG, Beggars Music Group and Domino, plus Kobalt Music Publishing, Concord, Peermusic, Downtown Music Publishing, Reservoir Media and Bucks Music Group.
Most recently, Hade and Barnes announced that Beatstar has amassed nearly 100 million downloads and is expected to surpass $200 million in lifetime revenue this year.
“Addressing this immense opportunity, now, with a dedicated music-focused venture rather than a traditional mobile gaming studio approach makes this partnership an exciting step forward for all concerned.”
Simon Hade, NEXTBEAT
Under the new arrangement, Beatstar and its country music-focused successor, Countrystar, will transfer to NEXTBEAT, a new London-headquartered venture led by Hade and Barnes.
“As soon as we played the first prototype of Beatstar we knew we had something special that could really break new ground. I look forward to building on the momentum of the talented Space Ape team, as NEXTBEAT, to expand into more experiences, games and apps that showcase the inspiration and creativity of our artist partners,” said Hade.
“Addressing this immense opportunity, now, with a dedicated music-focused venture rather than a traditional mobile gaming studio approach makes this partnership an exciting step forward for all concerned and I’m thrilled that the team at Supercell shared our ambitious vision.”
The spinoff follows Supercell’s investment in Space Ape Games, which began with a $56 million majority stake purchase in 2017 and increased to 75% ownership in 2022. While Supercell moves to acquire the remaining shares of Space Ape Games, it will maintain a minority position in NEXTBEAT alongside other external investors.
“Beatstar taught us that there is huge per-user monetization potential for music in gaming, far surpassing streaming service subscriptions.”
Olly Barnes, NEXTBEAT
NEXTBEAT launches with a 30-person team in London, primarily composed of gaming industry veterans from Space Ape Games, and has appointed experienced finance executive Joe Adams as CFO.
NETBEAT says the Beatstar franchise has already established itself as the “top-grossing music game series” in Western markets, collecting industry recognition including Google‘s Players Choice award, Apple Editors’ Choice, and Game of the Year at the Mobile Game Awards 2022.
“Beatstar taught us that there is huge per-user monetization potential for music in gaming, far surpassing streaming service subscriptions. The vast mobile gaming audience and ARPU insights from Countrystar’s genre-focused approach underscored the need to launch a fully resourced company dedicated to this opportunity,” said Barnes.
Looking ahead, NEXTBEAT plans to develop additional genre-focused gaming platforms while exploring opportunities to apply its music licensing and game development expertise in educational technology and mental health sectors.
Supercell’s Chief Strategy Officer Janne Snellman said, “We are excited to continue on the journey that started with Beatstar and see the next phase of music-first business alongside NextBeat’s talented team.”
Music Business Worldwide
