Glu Mobile plans to double number of development teams to 22 in 2012

Social mobile gaming company Glu Mobile said it plans to expand the number of its development teams over the next year, after the completion of its acquisitions of gaming companies Blammo and Griptonite, from 11 to a minimum of 22 in 2012. Griptonite alone will provide 11 of those development teams.

During an appearance at the Canaccord Genuity Global Growth Conference, Glu CFO Eric Ludwig also touched on a variety of other topics. He said that, during the second quarter, Glu's revenues from smartphones for the first time exceeded revenues from feature phones. However, Glu reported second-quarter losses of $1.75 million, which Ludwig attributed to sluggish sales from feature phones.

Ludwig also cited Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) efforts to limit CPI (cost per install) revenue models--a model wherein users receive digital rewards in one Glu app for purchasing another Glu app. While Glu was initially profiting from incentivized downloads, "Apple clamped down on it," explained Ludwig.

Ludwig reported that Glu's active users increased to 16.5 million at the end of June. In addition, he said the company counted around 1.6 million active users per day during June. Glu's audience grew 72 percent quarter-over-quarter during the second quarter.

Glu's in-app purchases also increased quarter over quarter, Ludwig said. He noted that Gun Bros, one of Glu's titles, now offers a $500 in-app purchase, an otherwise unlockable gun. He said all but one of Glu's mobile titles now operate under the freemium model, profiting from in-game advertising and in-app purchases instead of paid downloads.

For more:
- listen to this recording of the event

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