Playtika halts the creation of new games until the return on investment is "viable."

 Playtika has declared that until the return on investment (ROI) of new games is "economically viable," it will mostly halt its new game development pipeline.
 Playtika
 The decision against a "evolving" industrial landscape was explained by Craig Abrahams, president and CFO of Playtika, during the company's FY22 results call.

 In order to align "the company's expense profile with revenue trends," Abrahams said, the decision was made as part of a larger strategy that has largely involved aggressively reducing expenses and streamlining the business at all levels.

 According to Playtika, the company will stop developing new projects until the return on investment is "economically viable."
 According to Abraham, "we decided to temporarily suspend our new game development pipeline until the ROI for new games is economically viable based on the current marketing environment."  "The marketing math just doesn't work right now in terms of the new game pipeline."

 The announcement comes after Playtika said in December that it will be terminating 600 workers, or 15% of its whole workforce, as it concludes its "non-core" projects.

 The studio stated that it would raise its investment in other games through M&A and continue to invest in its current products in spite of this news.

 Abrahams confirmed that Playtika's Wooga studio would keep creating casual games.  In 2018, Playtika acquired the Berlin-based company as part of their broader strategy to expand into new game genres.

 The year has been "challenging" for the mobile gaming sector, according to Robert Antokol, CEO of the company.

 Antokol stated, "I am proud of the way we have conducted our business during a difficult year for the mobile gaming industry."  "With the help of cutting-edge technological innovation and an unwavering desire to encourage exploration, connection, and enjoyment among our devoted player base, we are providing immersive, customised entertainment experiences and strengthening our position as the leading game operator in the industry."

 Quarter four
 The company's revenue for the three months that ended on December 31 was $631.2 million (£527.8 million/€594.1 million), a 2.7% drop from the $649 million earned in Q4 2022.

 With this revenue, the studio's net income decreased 14.4% to $87.5 million.

 Bingo Blitz and Slotomania, Playtika's two biggest casino games, had different financial trends throughout the quarter.  Playtika's free-to-play slots game saw a 9.0% decline in income to $149.2 million, while its bingo-themed offering brought in $155.1 million.

 According to Abrahams, Playtika was "focused on stabilising the game," while Slotomania was "a strategic priority for the company."

 In Q4, income from social casino-themed games fell by 8.6% on an annual basis.

 Total revenue for the year
 Playtika reported a 1.6% increase in revenue to $2.61 billion for the entire year.

 At $735.7 million, revenue costs decreased by 0.9%.  With a 3.7% increase to $603.7 million, sales and marketing expenses were the second-highest of the quarter.  The overall revenue was $471.4 million after deducting $472.3 million for research and development and $332.4 million for general and administrative expenses.

 The net income for the year was $275.3 million, a 10.8% decrease from 2022, after account for interest and other expenditures of $110.6 million and income tax provision of $85.5 million.

 Abrahams stated, "In FY22, we made a number of strategic decisions to position the company for continued success."  "We are well-positioned to continue creating value for our shareholders thanks to Playtika's robust business model and the efficiency improvements we've made over the past year."

 For the year, credit adjusted profits before interest, tax, depreciation, or amortisation were $805.1 million, a 5.1% decline.

 Non-monetary indicators
 Playtika disclosed several non-financial metrics as additional indicators of its progress in addition to its financial performance.

 The number of daily paying customers increased little to 313,000 from 311,000 the year before, but otherwise stayed very stable.

 However, compared to the 10.3 million Playtika recorded in the previous year, the number of daily active users dropped dramatically to 8.8 million.

 According to Playtika, the company anticipates making between $2.57 billion and $2.62 billion in 2023.  EBITDA is anticipated to range between $805 million to $830 million.