Keywords Studios, a Dublin-based video game development company that provides localization services, recently released its half-year trading update, which shows a significant increase in revenue that exceeded the company’s expectations. The company saw a 37% revenue increase in the first half of 2021, crediting its rising profits to the fact that the pandemic spurred an increase in demand for new video games.
“Keywords has made a strong start to the year, continuing the momentum seen in the second half of 2020, with demand for our services being driven by a buoyant video games market, structural trends towards outsourcing, and a renewed focus on content creation,” said John Hauck, the company’s joint interim chief executive officer (CEO).
The company’s first half-year revenues were up by €238 million (around $281 million), a major increase from the €173.5 million (around $205 million) that the company saw during the same period during 2020. Additionally, the company saw organic revenue growth of 23% during the first half of this year. During the pandemic, shelter-in-place orders led to a significant increase in video game players across the world, and as a result, demand for Keywords’ services has also gone up quite a bit.
Earlier this year, MultiLingual reported on the company’s strong growth through 2020, which included numerous acquisitions and a revenue increase of 14.4%. At the time, Hauck said that he expected the company to continue its momentum through 2021, noting “the continued trend towards outsourcing and an increased focus on content creation in a growing video games market.”
According to a report from The Irish Times, the company acquired Tantalus and Climax Studios during the first half of 2021, which has “extended the (company’s) reach and scale.”
“Looking forward, we expect strong demand to continue across most service lines underpinning our confidence of delivering a performance that is at least in line with market expectations for the year, albeit with growth rates and margins expected to moderate against stronger H2 2020 comparatives, and as some costs return with the easing of restrictions,” Hauck said.
