Skillz Live and Virtual Exhibitor Booth #S749 South Hall Thrills Attendees With A Fun Week of Live Skillz-Powered Mobile Game Competitions, New Developer-Enabling Products, and A Sneak Preview of the NEW NFL Branded Mobile Games
Uniting for the first time at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, will be hosting Aarki, its growing demand side platform (DSP), alongside Skillz’ strategic Photon Engine partner. Visit the Skillz booth at GDC – one of the biggest events of the year for the game developer community – located at #S749 in South Hall, which takes place March 23-25, 2022 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.
“Skillz’s unique, disruptive platform continues to democratize the mobile gaming industry by making it better and easier for developers to create, monetize, and grow their games through competition,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO of Skillz. “We look forward to sharing an exclusive first look at some of Skillz’s latest product innovations, services, and strategic partnerships at GDC that will further enable new and existing developers to build multi-million dollar franchises on the Skillz platform.”
At this year’s GDC, Skillz will be unveiling a showstopping lineup of exclusive first looks and live events, including:
Show Days (March 23-25):
SNEAK PREVIEW OF THE FIRST NFL-BRANDED MOBILE GAMES ON SKILLZ: Compete and play the NFL & Skillz Game Developer Challenge finalists’ NFL-branded mobile games, presently in limited soft launch. Check out which games are your favorite. The winning games will be announced prior to the 2022 NFL season.
SKILLZ AND PHOTON ENGINE VIP DEVELOPER HAPPY HOUR ON TUESDAY, MARCH 22: Skillz and its Photon Engine partner, will host an exclusive VIP developer Happy Hour. (Invitation only event)
SKILLZ GDC 2022 SESSION ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 12:30-1:30 PM: Join an in-person and virtual session on “Building the Future of Competition” with Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz; Mark Val, Head of Growth at Photon Engine; and George Petro, President of Play Mechanix.
SKILLZ NEW PRODUCT INNOVATIONS AND SERVICES: Schedule a VIP preview of Skillz’s impending product and service innovations for the developer ecosystem. And learn more about Aarki, the first integrated esports advertising platform for delivering industry-leading ROI for performance advertisers on the Skillz platform. To schedule a meeting, contact salesteam@skillz.com.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PHOTON ENGINE: Meet with the creators of the Photon Engine, the world’s leading synchronous multiplayer gaming technology that allows Skillz developers to create and host real-time, multiplayer games. Contact Mark Val at mark@photonengine.com.
LIVE SKILLZ TOURNAMENTS AT GDC: Compete to win world-class prizes by joining Skillz live mobile game tournaments, hosted every day at the Skillz GDC booth. Download and play your favorite Skillz-enabled games, including Big Cooking, Big Buck Hunter: Marksman, Bubble Cube 2, Darts Tournament, Blast Birds, and Pool Payday. Check out the full Skillz-powered tournaments streaming on Skillz live events portal at Skillz Arena.
Stay tuned for more live updates from Skillz at GDC 2022 posted throughout the week, March 21-25 on Skillz Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn social channels. Also coming soon, GDC virtual attendees can also stop by Skillz Virtual Booth to read and view all of the show action in real-time.
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leadingmobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enablingsocial competition in their games. Leveraging itspatented technology, Skillz hosts billions ofcasual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the number-one fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000.www.skillz.com
iOS and Android users can download the “Drone Racing Arcade by DRL™” today
Now anyone can be a drone pilot and experience the action-packed sport of drone racing while pushing their #DroneSkills to the limit. The Drone Racing League (DRL), the world’s premier, professional drone racing property, today launched its first mobile game, Drone Racing Arcade with Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide. This first-of-its-kind mobile game powered by Skillz is now available as a free app for iOS and Android mobile devices.
Starting this December, DRL will challenge their millions of fans, as well as players around the world to compete in Skillz-hosted Drone Racing Arcade tournaments for the chance to win exclusive prizes. The Drone Racing Arcade mobile game offers an entirely new and immersive experience for DRL fans to get in on the drone racing rush.
“The Drone Racing League is a sport for everyone, intersecting technology, sports and entertainment. Our Drone Racing Arcade game is the ultimate first foray into flying drones on mobile, giving players a fun, free and easy way to experience the thrill of drone racing,” said DRL Chief Marketing Officer Anne Marie Gianutsos.
“Drone racing is one of the fastest growing action sports of our era—so it’s a thrill to announce the Drone Racing League is teaming up with Skillz for their expansion into competitive mobile gaming,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and Founder of Skillz. “Pushing the limits of innovation, competition and fun, we’re delighted to welcome players into the world of drone racing, giving DRL’s millions of fans a new reason to thrill-seek through high-flying Skillz-powered mobile tournaments.”
The Drone Racing Arcade mobile game takes the epic racing sport to a whole new level. Players compete against the clock, racing DRL drones through neon-lit courses filled with obstacles, gates, coins, and boosts to score the most points and prove that they are the top drone pilot. Flying is performed through simple touch-screen maneuvers, focused on rising, pushing and tilting the drones — giving players a feel for real-life drone racing skills and commands such as throttle, pitch and yaw.
The Drone Racing Arcade game debuts during the 2021-22 DRL World Championship Season, which combines the best of esports and real drone racing and airs on Wednesday nights at 8pm EST on NBCSN and Twitter. Throughout the season, the world’s best drone pilots race high-speed drones in spectacular courses through virtual DRL SIM maps and iconic sports arenas including FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, home arena to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and the Las Vegas Strip outside T-Mobile Arena for the DRL Vegas Championship Race Presented by T-Mobile.
About Drone Racing League
The Drone Racing League (DRL) is the world’s premier, professional drone racing property. The best drone pilots in the world fly in the league and millions of fans watch them race on NBC, NBCSN, and Twitter. With groundbreaking technology and immersive, high-speed races through virtual and live events, DRL is creating a new era of sports, combining both esports and real-life competition.
Founded by Nicholas Horbaczewski in 2015, DRL is a privately held company headquartered in NYC. For more information, visit www.drl.io. To join the conversation, follow DRL on Twitter @DroneRaceLeague, Instagram @thedroneracingleague and TikTok @thedroneracingleague.
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leadingmobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enablingsocial competition in their games. Leveraging itspatented technology, Skillz hosts billions ofcasual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the number-one fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000.www.skillz.com
Bhardwaj Brings Deep Game Development and Global Launch Expertise to Top Mobile Gaming Platform, Accelerating Product Momentum and Supporting Key Growth Initiatives
Skillz(NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, today announced the appointment of Vatsal Bhardwaj as the company’s Chief Product Officer. An experienced gaming executive who most recently served as the General Manager and Director of Game Tech for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Bhardwaj joins the Skillz C-suite, further strengthening the company’s executive team with experienced leaders from many of the world’s most prominent brands.
“With an outstanding track record at both Amazon and Facebook, Vatsal brings nearly two decades of experience to the Skillz leadership team at a pivotal time as we aggressively scale and grow our business around the world,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and Founder of Skillz. “Under his direction, our product team will develop and deploy innovative new gameplay technologies, accelerate our entry into multiplayer synchronous gaming, and build out brand-sponsored tournaments and partnerships, giving both our players and developers the best experience possible.”
“I look forward to leading the product team at a moment where Skillz is reimagining the future of mobile gaming and scaling the business,” Bhardwaj said. “I’m pleased to join Skillz during this enormous growth period as the company continues building its foundation, driving the product and tech teams forward to expand the innovative product offerings and deliver fun, fair, and trusted gameplay for players across the globe.”
As Chief Product Officer, Bhardwaj will report directly to Paradise while leading the global product team at Skillz as the company drives to become the world’s top competitive entertainment brand. In this role, Bhardwaj will lead the product and technology teams, and will be responsible for driving the creation of new services and products from concept, development, and go-to-market. He and his team will build and operationalize the company’s product roadmap, which will include building industry-leading features to enable developers to build successful businesses on Skillz. Additionally, Bhardwaj will help scale the teams, operational practices, and systems as Skillz experiences continued strong growth.
While with AWS, Bhardwaj was the leader for Game Tech, including launching one of the largest open-source initiatives, Open 3D engine, Amazon GameSparks, growing Amazon Gamelift and initiating several new initiatives in gaming. Before joining Amazon, Bhardwaj served as Head of Product for various groups at Facebook, where he managed projects and teams across engineering, product management, game design, production, art, UI/UX, and analytics. He led Facebook’s India growth teams, and launched and scaled the Oculus App store, developer services, and several other initiatives to grow revenues for Oculus. Prior to Facebook, Bhardwaj was General Manager and Head of Studios at Storm8, and also served in related roles at Match.com and Zynga.
Bhardwaj holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Duke University, and a Bachelor of Computer Engineering degree from Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players around the world in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz marketplace expands the gaming ecosystem, helping developers share their art with the world and build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for 30 million mobile players worldwide and distributes millions in prizes each month. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by leading venture capitalists, media companies, and professional sports leagues and franchises. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000.www.skillz.com
Millions of Buck Hunters Aim for Victory with “Marksman” Game During All-New, Skillz-Powered Esports Tournament at 14th Annual “Big Buck Hunter” World Championship, October 1-2 in Chicago
First Mobile Division Tournament Open to Players Everywhere with Champion “Marksman” Winning $5,000 Grand Prize!
Big Buck Hunter fans around the world are setting their sights on the hit hunting franchise as it launches its newest game, Big Buck Hunter: Marksman. Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, today announced the official release of Marksman, the platform’s latest competitive mobile game on both iOS and Android, and its inaugural first-person shooter (FPS) title. Developed by Play Mechanix, the game has already topped the charts, hitting No. 3 in the sports category of popular apps on the App Store.
“Big Buck Hunter: Marksman represents a significant milestone for Skillz as we celebrate our expansion into the wildly popular first-person shooter genre,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and Founder of Skillz. “The fervent fan base behind FPS games like Big Buck Hunter number in the hundreds of millions, so we’re honored to introduce Marksman, an all-new hunting experience alongside the incredible developer partner, Play Mechanix exclusively on Skillz.”
“This is a great day as we officially release Big Buck Hunter: Marksman, which integrates one of our most popular video game franchises of all-time, with Skillz, the world’s most powerful mobile games competition engine,” said George Petro, Founder of Play Mechanix. “We’re ecstatic to introduce our fans to this next generation mobile game that brings community, competition, and the chance to win huge prizes. It’s what fans of the Big Buck Hunter franchise have grown to know and love, and has kept them playing for over 20 years.”
In celebration of the new release, Skillz will be hosting a two-day live and virtual Big Buck Hunter: Marksman tournament at this year’s 14th Annual Big Buck Hunter World Championship taking place in Chicago on October 1-2, 2021. Skillz will serve as the premier sponsor of the Big Buck Hunter World Championship, kicking off the yearly event’s first Skillz-powered Mobile Esports Division Tournament. Anyone can enter and compete in Skillz’ two-day Big Buck Hunter: Marksman tournament on October 1-2. Simply download the mobile game to play free, no pre-qualifications necessary, and enter Match Code BIGBUCKZ starting October 1 for the chance to win a whopping 5,000-buck ($5,000) grand prize. Players around the world can download the app to start practicing now.
The Big Buck Hunter World Championship draws over 20,000 players competing to qualify for a chance to be crowned Big Buck Hunter World Champion. Whether gamers play to compete or want to tune in to watch all of the action from the Big Buck Hunter: Marksman mobile tournament and Big Buck Hunter World Championship, a video livestream will capture the two-day highlights on the Big Buck HunterFacebook page, the Big Buck HunterYouTube channel, and the Big Buck Hunter Twitch channel throughout the weekend.
Big Buck Hunter Franchise
For over two decades, Big Buck Hunter has been a cultural icon whose franchise has been built upon a devoted global fan base. Developed by Play Mechanix, Big Buck Hunter became one of the most popular arcade games and a fan-favorite bar-room pastime among millions of gamers who spent hours playing it at more than 46,000 bars, restaurants, and arcades around the world. The Big Buck Hunter franchise includes titles made for PC, game consoles, plug-and-play games, social media platforms, and pinball machines. A simple-to-play, hard-to-master game, it is one of the top global arcade esports, boasting a thriving community of Big Buck Hunter gamers that continues to grow through both live and now virtual Skillz-powered tournaments.
Skillz Big Buck Hunter: Marksman Competitive Mobile Game
In Big Buck Hunter: Marksman, players are matched with other “hunters” of the same skill. The scenic mobile game environment takes players through a variety of bountiful hunting sites as they take aim through their scope and put their big buck shooting skills to the test; the farther and more accurate the shot, the more points are earned. The Skillz-powered competition heats up as players earn awards for hitting consecutive shots, culminating in the coveted five-star Marksman Award. The best part? It’s all virtual – no real-world bucks are ever in danger!
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most
Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the number-one fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com
About Play Mechanix, Inc.
Founded in 1995 by former Midway designer George Petro, Play Mechanix is a global leader in the design and development of arcade video games. Merging with Raw Thrills in 2006 to form the top arcade video game manufacturer in the world, Play Mechanix is responsible for hit releases such as the Big Buck Hunter series, Halo: Fireteam Raven, The Walking Dead Arcade, Terminator Salvation, Aliens Armageddon, MotoGP, and many, many more.
Global Trivia Hit to Offer Competitive, Live Tournament-Style Play
Trivia Crack’s Millions of Daily Active Users Will Soon Be Able to Compete for Prizes
The most popular mobile trivia game in history, Trivia Crack is coming toSkillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, the company announced today. As the number-one trivia franchise in the world, Trivia Crack is a global phenomenon available in more than 180 countries, 34 languages, and has more than 150 million active users annually.
Developed by etermax, one of the largest game developers in Latin America, the new Skillz-powered game will be the first trivia-based entertainment property of its kind to offer competitive, live tournament-style play for real-world prizes. It will also be the first to incorporate a collection of the best trivia features from the franchise that’s madeTrivia Cracka fan favorite. The collaboration will connect Trivia Crack’s worldwide fan base with Skillz, which offers industry-leading monetization through its competitive tournament system.
“etermax has challenged trivia fans across the globe with their hugely popular Trivia Crack games. Now Skillz will put fan knowledge to the test with the newest game in the franchise, built exclusively for our platform,” said Skillz CEO and Founder Andrew Paradise. “Trivia Crack has the potential to be one of the most popular competitive trivia games of our time, reaching new audiences and generations of players worldwide by adding even more fun to Skillz’s growing arsenal of games.”
Originally launched in 2013, Trivia Crack is one of the most beloved trivia-based, multi-platform entertainment franchises in the world. Ranked as the number-one trivia brand in more than 125 countries according to user ratings and reviews, the franchise includes several mobile titles such as Trivia Crack, Trivia Crack 2, Trivia Crack Adventure, and more. With over 600 million downloads worldwide, the Trivia Crack franchise is available on Android, iOS, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple Watch, YouTube, and Twitch, and has also inspired a line of board games, figurines, consumer products, and the animated series Triviatopia.
“Combining technology with creativity, data, and experimentation has pushed etermax to the forefront of mobile gaming, connecting players all over the world,” said etermax CEO and Founder Maximo Cavazzani. “We can’t wait to expand our franchise and fanbase by leveraging the Skillz competitive gaming platform, which will give our massive Trivia Crackfamily the opportunity to level up their trivia knowledge plus win prizes and, dare we say, illustrious bragging rights.”
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is theleading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enablingsocial competition in their games. Leveraging itspatented technology, Skillz hosts billions ofcasual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each
month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the number-one fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000.www.skillz.com
About etermax
Founded in 2009 in Argentina, etermaxis an international technology company, creator of global brands that connect, entertain and provide business value. Its Gaming division has exceeded 800 million downloads which highlights it as a leader in Latin America in the development of social games with successful IPs such as Trivia Crack and Word Crack, among others. The company also integrates a Brand Gamification division, a pioneer in the region in offering marketing and advertising solutions in the video game universe, with recreational experiences and special advertising formats in a network of thousands of titles, owned and represented. Furthermore, it has incorporated a division of Artificial Intelligence (“A.I”) focused on applying AI in the organization’s digital transformation. Constantly growing, etermaxhas teams in Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
Skillz Makes Its Debut on Prestigious List, Joining Companies Including Google, IBM, Moderna, and Samsung
Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, has been named to Fast Company’s third annual list of the “100 Best Workplaces for Innovators.” This latest honor follows a series of exemplary industry awards and accolades that Skillz has received, spotlighting the company’s commitment to pioneering the future of mobile gaming and esports.
Skillz ranked #37 on the list, joining companies such as Google, IBM, Moderna, Samsung, General Motors, and Mattel, which are ranked, in the words of Fast Company Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Mehta, based on having “created cultures of innovation and sustained them, even as remote work extended into 2021.”
“This newest list of the Best Places to Work for Innovators honors those organizations that found ways to collaborate and invent despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, ensuring employees were at the forefront,” she added.
“At Skillz, we pride ourselves on creating a workplace where innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit thrive,” said Skillz CEO and Founder Andrew Paradise. “Being recognized by Fast Company for attracting, fostering, and retaining the best and brightest minds in our industry is a true honor, especially since our diverse, talented team is what’s driving us forward as we revolutionize the future of competitive entertainment.”
For its third annual list, Fast Company partnered with Accenture, a leading global professional services firm, to determine the 2021 Best Workplaces for Innovators. Fast Company’s editors and Accenture’s researchers combed through more than 1,500 organizations, from small nonprofits to top Fortune 500 companies, to determine the final rankings of winners around the world that, the magazine said, “share a passion for giving employees the freedom to explore creative ideas that benefit their businesses and their communities.”
The Fast Company recognition is the latest in a series of such awards honoring Skillz as a great place to work. In May, the company was named to the 2021 “Best Places to Work” list published by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal, which recognizes companies “known for recruiting and retaining the best and brightest employees.” The following month, Skillz was named to Parity.org’s 2021 “Best Companies for Women to Advance” List, which recognizes organizations with benefits, programs, and policies that ensure women have significant opportunities to advance their careers. Skillz joined other leading companies such as Airbnb, Salesforce, NASDAQ, Adobe, Fidelity Investments, Ralph Lauren, SAP, Best Buy, and PepsiCo on these lists.
A feature story on the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators will be published in the September print edition of Fast Company, which will be on newsstands August 17th.
For more information on why Skillz was named one of the “Best Workplaces for Innovators” and how to join the company’s rapidly growing team across a wide variety of departments and disciplines, please visit the Skillz careers page or LinkedIn.
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com
About Fast Company
Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership, and design. Written for, by, and about the most progressive business leaders, Fast Company and FastCompany.com inspire readers and users to think beyond traditional boundaries, lead conversations, and create the future of business.
– Company Completes Aarki Acquisition and Investment in Exit Games in July
– Updates Organic Revenue Guidance Up to $376 Million
Skillz Inc. (NYSE: SKLZ) (“Skillz” or the “Company”), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair competition to players worldwide, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021.
“Skillz is pleased to report strong revenue growth for the 22nd consecutive quarter and the closing of our acquisition of marketing platform Aarki, which will increase the efficiency of our user acquisition spend,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz. “Together with our partners, we continue to accelerate our vision of connecting the world through the power of competition.”
Q2 Financial Highlights
Revenue grew to $89.5 million during the second quarter of 2021, up 52% over the prior year.
Gross profit grew to $85.1 million during the second quarter of 2021, up 52% over the prior year.
Gross margin was 95% during the second quarter of 2021, in line with prior year.
Net loss increased to $79.6 million during the second quarter of 2021, compared with $20.2 million in the prior year.
Adjusted EBITDA was $(31.6) million during the second quarter of 2021, $28.3 million lower than the prior year.
Gross Marketplace Volume1 (GMV) grew to $608.5 million during the second quarter of 2021, up 47% over the prior year.
Cash on balance sheet of $692.8 million and no debt at the end of second quarter 2021.
1 Gross Marketplace Volume means the total entry fees paid by users for contests hosted on Skillz’s platform. Total entry fees include entry fees paid by end-users using cash deposits, prior cash winnings from end-users’ accounts that have not been withdrawn, and end-user incentives used to enter paid entry fee contests.
Q2 Business Highlights
Acquired Aarki, a growing demand-side platform with more than 465 million monthly users, rich data engines, and proprietary machine-learning algorithms that deliver industry-leading ROI to its advertiser customers. Aarki broadens Skillz’s footprint by combining Skillz’s leading monetization with Aarki’s advanced User Acquisition capabilities.
Formed a strategic alliance with Exit Games, a private German company whose advanced technology allows developers to create and host real-time, synchronous, multiplayer games. Skillz’s $50 million investment for a minority stake in Exit Games will give the Company permanent access to Exit’s technology to power its esports tournaments and platform exclusively, as well as dramatically accelerate the development of multiplayer synchronous content on the Skillz platform.
Officially launched our multi-phase partnership with the NFL, kicking off a developer challenge to identify new NFL-branded mobile game(s). Hundreds of game proposals were submitted, and in collaboration with the NFL, Skillz reviewed the concepts and selected 14 semi-finalists, who have moved into the development phase of the competition.
Launched Big Buck Hunter: Marksman, successfully advancing the mobile version of the legendary arcade game through the first phase of scale testing. Skillz continues to work to optimize performance in preparation for scaling.
Financial Outlook
The Company is updating its full-year 2021 revenue guidance from $375 million to $376 million for Skillz on a stand-alone basis, plus $13 million revenue contribution from the business combination with Aarki resulting in combined 2021 revenue of $389 million.
Investor Conference Call and Webcast
Earlier today, Skillz posted a stockholder letter and short video featuring Andrew Paradise, Founder and CEO at Skillz, discussing the second quarter results on its investor relations website at http://investors.skillz.com. A live question and answer conference call and audio webcast with analysts and investors will begin at 5:30pm Eastern Time (ET).
The Q&A conference call can be accessed by registering online for the Skillz Conference, at which time registrants will receive dial-in information as well as a passcode and registrant ID. At the time of the call, participants will dial in using the numbers in the confirmation email and enter their passcode and ID, upon which they will enter the conference call. Registration to a live audio-webcast of the discussion in listen-only mode is available at webcast registration.
A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Company’s investor relations website. An audio replay of the Q&A conference call will be available through August 10, 2021 and can be accessed by dialing 1-929-458-6194 (domestic) or +44-204-525-0658 (international) and entering the passcode 684073.
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In this press release, the Company includes Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP Operating Expenses, which are non-GAAP performance measures that the Company uses to supplement its results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. As required by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Company has provided herein a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures contained in this press release to the most directly comparable measures under GAAP. The Company’s management believes Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP Operating Expenses are useful in evaluating its operating performance and are similar measures reported by publicly-listed U.S. competitors, and regularly used by securities analysts, institutional investors, and other interested parties in analyzing operating performance and prospects. By providing these non-GAAP measures, the Company’s management intends to provide investors with a meaningful, consistent comparison of the Company’s profitability for the periods presented. Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a substitute for any U.S. GAAP financial measure and, as calculated, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of performance of other companies in other industries or within the same industry. Further, Non-GAAP Operating Expenses is not intended to be a substitute for any U.S. GAAP financial measure and, as calculated, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of performance of other companies in other industries or within the same industry.
The Company defines and calculates Adjusted EBITDA as net loss before interest, other non-operating expense or income, provision for income taxes, and depreciation and amortization, and further adjusted for stock-based compensation and other special items determined by management, including, but not limited to, fair value adjustments for certain financial liabilities (including derivatives) associated with debt and equity transactions and impairment charges, as they are not indicative of business operations. The Company defines and calculates Non-GAAP Operating Expenses as GAAP Operating Expenses adjusted for stock-based compensation, one-time transaction expenses and other special items determined by management, including, but not limited to impairment charges, as they are not indicative of business operations.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company’s actual results may differ from its expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside of the Company’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the ability of Skillz to: effectively compete in the global entertainment and gaming industries; attract and retain successful relationships with the third party developers that develop and update all of the games hosted on Skillz’s platform; comply with laws and regulations applicable to its business; and as well as other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will be made available in other filings that the Company makes from time to time with the SEC. In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable as of this date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
(1) For the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, amounts represent one-time nonrecurring expenses related to the follow-on offering, Aarki acquisition, and executive severance expense.
(2) For the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, amounts represent an impairment charge of a lease deposit and prepayment in connection with a lease agreement related to our facilities in San Francisco.
(1) For the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, amounts represent one-time nonrecurring expenses related to the follow-on offering, Aarki acquisition, and executive severance expense.
(2) For the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, amounts represent an impairment charge of a lease deposit and prepayment in connection with a lease agreement related to our facilities in San Francisco.
(1) “Monthly Active Users” or “MAUs” means the number of end-users who entered into a paid or free contest hosted on Skillz’s platform at least once in a month, averaged over each month in the period.
(2) “Paying Monthly Active Users” or “PMAUs” means the number of end-users who entered into a paid contest hosted on Skillz’s platform at least once in a month, averaged over each month in the period.
(3) “Average Revenue Per Monthly Active User” or “ARPU” means the average revenue in a given month divided by MAUs in that month, averaged over the period.
(4) “Average Revenue Per Paying Monthly Active User” or “ARPPU” means the average revenue in a given month divided by Paying MAUs in that month, averaged over the period.
(5) “GMV” or “Gross Marketplace Volume” means the total entry fees paid by users for contests hosted on Skillz’s platform. Total entry fees include entry fees paid by end-users using cash deposits, prior cash winnings from end-users’ accounts that have not been withdrawn, and end-user incentives used to enter paid entry fee contests.
Skillz Accelerates Expansion into Racing, Fighting, and First-Person Shooter Genres with $50 Million Investment
Exit Games is the Leader in Synchronous Gaming Technology, Powering Publishers Such as EA, Square Enix, and Ubisoft
Alliance Provides Skillz with Platform Exclusivity, Making Skillz a Preferred Partner for Publishers and Developers
Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, today announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Exit Games, global developer of Photon, the world’s most advanced synchronous multiplayer gaming technology.
Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Exit Gamesallows developers to create and host real-time, synchronous multiplayer games. Its nearly 600,000 trusted partners include some of the most well-respected game publishers and developers in the world, such as EA, Square Enix, and Ubisoft, among others, powering gameplay in over 700,000 applications.
Skillz’s investment in Exit Games will give the Company permanent access to Exit’s technology to power its esports tournaments and platform exclusively. The partnership will dramatically accelerate Skillz’s timeline to support multiplayer synchronous content on the platform, while also enabling Skillz to build unrivaled features in tandem with Exit’s gaming technology. Publishers and developers worldwide will now have the ability to build games on the Skillz platform in entirely new genres, such as battle royale, while continuing to provide gamers with the confidence that their contests will always live up to the Skillz promise of fairness.
“Bringing the world’s best synchronous, multiplayer gaming technology to Skillz unlocks tremendous opportunity, greatly accelerating our entry into popular genres like fighting, first-person shooter, and racing,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and Founder of Skillz. “Expanding into these new areas will grow our total universe of players and allow us to capture an even greater share of their leisure time and spend, while also introducing the technology and infrastructure necessary to attract more of the hottest, most creative developers, publishers, brands, and iconic franchises to our platform.”
Under the terms of the deal, Skillz has invested $50 million for a minority stake in Exit Games. In addition, Paradise will join the Board of Exit Games as a board observer.
“We are big admirers of Skillz and how they are innovating in the field of competitive gaming,” said Christof Wegmann, the Founder and CTO of Exit Games. “This investment is a natural fit. We’re pleased to have Skillz as a long-term partner in bringing synchronous play to our developers and their gaming fans around the world.”
LionTree Advisors served as financial advisor and Orrick served as legal advisor to Skillz in the transaction. GP Bullhound served as financial advisor and Taylor Wessing served as legal advisor to Exit Games.
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com
About Exit Games
Founded in 2004, Exit Games is the provider of Photon, the world’s leading realtime multiplayer technology and cloud service for mobile, PC, Mac, Web, Console, VR, AR & MR. Developers are using Photon to create games and applications that offer true synchronous realtime experiences that scale to millions of users. Photon powers thousands of games and applications enjoyed by over 500 million users a month. About 600,000 developers including some of the world’s leading companies trust in Photon to fuel their realtime experiences, such as Disney, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Garmin, Oculus, Atari, RecRoom, BandaiNamco or Volkswagen. www.photonengine.com
Aarki’s Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms to be Augmented by Skillz’s Deep First Party Data
Aarki’s Reach of More Than 465 Million Monthly Users Will Extend Skillz’s Player Acquisition Capabilities
Acquisition Agreement Expected to Close in Third Quarter 2021
Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Aarki, a leading technology-driven marketing platform. The highly complementary acquisition will broaden Skillz’s footprint across the rapidly expanding mobile gaming industry by combining its competitive platform with Aarki’s advanced advertising capabilities.
Aarki is a growing demand-side platform (DSP) with global scale and a proven track record in the mobile gaming market. Aarki engages in more than five trillion monthly advertising auctions. The company leverages its robust creative services, rich data engines, and proprietary machine learning algorithms to deliver industry-leading ROI for performance advertisers.
“Aarki’s proven machine learning will pair with Skillz’s robust first-party data to create an unrivaled value proposition for game developers,” said Skillz CEO Andrew Paradise. “The integrated ecosystem will unlock new points of connectivity between consumers, developers, and brands, pairing the right impression with the right user at the right time, all while delivering a superior user experience.”
“Joining Skillz will offer tremendous advantages to both the Aarki team and our customer community,” said Aarki CEO Levon Budagyan. “Harnessing the combined power of our data science platforms will further increase our industry-leading performance marketing.”
Aarki is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and its approximately 160 employees will join the Skillz workforce, with Budagyan continuing to lead the business as a division of Skillz.
Skillz will acquire 100% of Aarki for approximately $150 million in cash and stock. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.
LionTree Advisors served as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Skillz in the transaction.
Investor Conference Call and Webcast
The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast at 8:30 am Eastern Time, June 2, 2021 to discuss the transaction. The conference call can be accessed by registering online at registration, at which time registrants will receive dial-in information as well as a passcode and registrant ID. At the time of the call, participants will dial in using the numbers in the confirmation email and enter their passcode and ID, upon which they will enter the conference call. An audio replay of the conference call will be available from 11:30 am Eastern Time on June 2, 2021 through June 9, 2021 and can be accessed by dialing (800) 585-8367 (domestic) or (416) 621-4642 (international).
The conference call can also be accessed online by registering at webcast registration. An archived replay of the webcast will be available on the Skillz investor relations website following the conclusion of the call.
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com
About Aarki
Aarki helps brands grow and re-engage their mobile users, using machine learning (AI), big data, and engaging creative. We strive to deliver performance at scale across different marketing objectives to meet the target return on investment. Our data offers deep insights into user intent and usage habits. To drive performance, we activate our data assets through proprietary machine learning algorithms and engage users in real time with personalized creative. Aarki raised one institutional round of capital led by Walden Venture Capital. www.aarki.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company’s actual results may differ from its expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside of the Company’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the ability of Skillz to: close the proposed acquisition of Aarki within the expected timeframe or at all; achieve the intended benefits of acquiring Aarki; acquire any regulatory approvals that may be required for the transaction; manage the impact of the transaction on the Company’s business, including any synergies from the transaction; effectively compete in the global entertainment, gaming, and mobile advertising industries; attract and retain successful relationships with the third party developers that develop and update all of the games hosted on Skillz’s platform; comply with laws and regulations applicable to its business; and as well as other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will be made available in other filings that the Company makes from time to time with the SEC. In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable as of this date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal Give Skillz High Marks in Categories Including Leadership, Communications, and Team Dynamics
Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair competition to players worldwide, today was named to the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal list of “Best Places to Work.”
This recognition, which is given to top companies “known for recruiting and retaining the best and brightest employees,” is a testament to the culture and community Skillz has established over the past nine years. The accolade also puts Skillz in a notable group alongside other leading companies, including Salesforce, Fidelity Investments, and SAP.
Winners of this special honor are determined based on employee responses to the third-party Best Places to Work survey. The survey explores six distinct categories: Communications and Resources, Individual Needs, Manager Effectiveness, Personal Engagement, Team Dynamics, and Trust in Leadership.
“Being named a ‘Best Place to Work’ is a tribute to all of our incredible Skillzians,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz. “Our people drive our success, and we take pride in fostering a dynamic, inclusive culture that inspires them to collaborate, push the limits of innovation, and have fun along the way.”
Skillz is leveling the esports playing field, a goal that is reflected in its company culture, which embraces fairness and accessibility. Each employee and team embodies Skillz’s core values – such as honor, collaboration, willingness, and balance – and is committed to infusing them into all they do.
Even in the face of the global pandemic, Skillzians’ company pride and camaraderie took center stage over the past year, driven by virtual employee esports tournaments, hangouts, game nights, and lunches. It comes as no surprise that Skillz employees are encouraged to play games during the workday, which helps them maintain a sense of community through friendly competition and empowers them to improve the Skillz platform with new features and game ideas.
For more information on why Skillz was named a “Best Place to Work” and how to join the rapidly growing team across a wide variety of departments and disciplines, please visit the Skillz careers page or LinkedIn.
About Skillz Inc.
Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com
