Ketchapp

Lore & Background

Ketchapp was founded by brothers Antoine and Michel Morcos in 2014 in Paris. In April 2014, the company cloned Gabriele Cirulli's open-source puzzle game 2048 and published it as an iOS app, with advertising and in-app purchases. It eventually reached the top of the iOS App Store charts. Ketchapp became successful by adapting ideas from other popular apps, with many of its releases being variations on existing games, such as reworking the popular 2013 game Flappy Bird as Run Bird Run.

In February 2015, the company released the scrolling reaction game ZigZag, which was praised for not being a clone of an existing game. However, in April 2015, developer Mudloop accused Ketchapp that ZigZag was a version of their game, Zig Zag Boom, that was submitted to but rejected by Ketchapp, and published under a different title without credit. Mudloop later stated that they had learned that their submission of Zig Zag Boom to Ketchapp post-dated Ketchapp having a working version of ZigZag.

In 2016, Christian Calderon joined Ketchapp as chief revenue officer. As of November 2017, Ketchapp has released 137 games, including Jelly Jump. On 27 September 2016, French video game publisher Ubisoft announced that they had acquired Ketchapp. On 16 May 2017, Ketchapp released a fidget spinner-themed game, titled simply Fidget Spinner and developed by Estoty. The app received seven million downloads in the first two weeks after it was released, as a result of which Ketchapp set up a Fanfiber store to sell limited edition Ketchapp-branded fidget spinners.

Reader's Guide

Ketchapp's significance lies in its rapid rise within the mobile gaming industry through a strategy of adapting and cloning existing popular games, most notably the open-source game 2048. This approach generated both commercial success and controversy, as the company faced repeated accusations of cloning from other developers. The ZigZag dispute with Mudloop illustrates the uncertainty around originality in the mobile market. Ketchapp's acquisition by Ubisoft in September 2016, when it already had over 700 million downloads, marked a major validation of its business model and demonstrated the value of mobile game portfolios to larger publishers. The company's later release of a fidget spinner game in 2017, which garnered seven million downloads in two weeks, shows its ability to capitalize on viral trends. Ketchapp's legacy is thus tied to the broader debate about cloning versus innovation in mobile gaming, as well as the consolidation of the industry through acquisitions. Its history reflects the fast-paced, trend-driven nature of the mobile app economy.

Did You Know?

• Ketchapp was founded in 2014 by brothers Antoine and Michel Morcos in Paris.
• The company's port of the open-source game 2048 reached the top of the iOS App Store charts.
• Ketchapp was acquired by Ubisoft in September 2016, at which point it had more than 700 million downloads.
• In May 2017, Ketchapp released a fidget spinner game that received seven million downloads in its first two weeks.