Bake It has surpassed 50 million downloads in total, making it the second most downloaded hyper-casual game Kwalee has ever released. The game ranked #1 in the ‘Simulation’ category in 20 countries and achieved close to 10 million downloads in the first month alone. Kwalee’s most downloaded game is still “Draw It” with more than 95 million downloads.
Released in May 2020, Bake It is the one-of-a-kind hyper-casual game that will allow you to become a great cake master with just a few taps. Bake It allows the player to bake cakes in continuous exploration with delicious hints, and players decorate their cakes with delicious toppings, cream, candies, and sprinkles.
Predictably, 2020 was a test year for Kwalee as it was for everyone else. Headquartered in Leamington Spa, the company has faced the challenge of replacing its studio’s shared physical space with a remote, digital development environment due to the widespread COVID-19 pandemic.
Bake It, which is Kwalee’s first game released under these circumstances, proved to be the standard-bearer in the firm’s impressive adaptation of remote work. Kwalee started 2020 as a developer and publisher with over 60 staff, all based in the UK and office, and has now found itself with over 160 team members across 13 countries and three offices which are Leamington Spa, Bangalore, and Beijing.
CEO David Darling expressed his thoughts on the game’s success and its role in Kwalee’s development as a globally distributed team:
“Seeing the success of Bake It along with a few other hit games of ours, like Object Hunt and Shootout 3D – it gives us confidence in remote working as the new model for our work culture. There’s a lot of potential we’re seeing in working this way to bring more hit games in the long term, especially with a globally-distributed team, so we’re excited about that.”
An article with more detailed information on the construction process of Bake It was published by Simon Platt, Head of Development at Kwalee, shortly after the game’s release. The article includes in-depth information on both the development and release phases of Bake It.
Between opening up permanent remote opportunities for candidates around the world and working alongside the offices in Bangalore and Beijing, Kwalee’s teams have had to keep their work structure consistent online whilst meeting project goals simultaneously. The achievements of Kwalee show that it has paid off really well, with the recent remote releases skyrocketing in the charts.
Kwalee is currently running a challenge for third-party developers called Hypercasual Heroes, in which developers have the chance to get their games published by Kwalee and potentially secure a slice of that Bake It-style success – along with incredible, limited-time awards including a Tesla Model 3 car and $100,000 in advances with uncapped profit share to follow! Open for submissions until 31st August, developers can simply upload their 15-second gameplay video to Kwalee’s new publisher portal in order to be eligible.
As seen in the example of Bake It, he demonstrated that the increased interest in cooking during the early stages of quarantine is often a therapeutic and productive relaxation tool to quell stress and anxiety. Bake It has certainly managed to show its impact on the industry and has proven to be an impressive longevity game.
Bake It continues to receive updates from Kwalee’s dedicated team of designers and developers. Players can download Bake It from Google Play Store and App Store.
