Voodoo
French mobile game publisher pivoting from hyper-casual games to apps like BeReal.
On the record
Checkpoint: Skillz v. Voodoo litigation discovery concludes, possible trial or settlement
The call
Voodoo makes real money from old hits while betting €500M on BeReal to escape a hyper-casual business that ad-network rivals have already squeezed.
Voodoo makes smartphone games and apps, earning real money (€135 million profit in 2025). Its old strength was simple casual games, but companies like AppLovin and ironSource beat it by owning the ad networks that bring players to games, giving them cheaper customer costs that Voodoo cannot match. Voodoo tried to compete by making different kinds of apps like BeReal and Jamble, but these face enormous competitors like Meta and TikTok who can copy anything Voodoo builds. The one thing that would show whether this strategy is working is whether the company raises new investor money at a higher value than its last round in 2021, or whether it has to take a lower valuation.
Why
01
AI pressure: Unity Muse and AI game-generation tools. AI prototyping tools let anyone spin up hyper-casual clones fast, erasing Voodoo's old speed edge in game production. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: AppLovin and Unity (ironSource/Supersonic). Both own ad networks that buy user attention cheaper than Voodoo can, squeezing margins on every game it still publishes. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Deep back catalog: 80% of 2024 revenue came from games live over 2 years, giving steady cash while it rebuilds.
What would change this call
Voodoo announces a new priced equity round within 12-18 months and its valuation mark. A flat or down round from the 2021 $2.1B mark would confirm the diversification thesis is not convincing investors.
Outcome or trial date of Skillz v. Voodoo (S.D.N.Y. Case 1:24-cv-04991), expected around mid-2026. A large settlement or judgment, as in the $420M Skillz v. Papaya case, would show material financial exposure.
BeReal reports profitability or a defensible ad-revenue milestone before 2027. Would show Voodoo's consumer-app pivot can compete against Meta and TikTok rather than just burn cash.
Outcome or trial date of Skillz v. Voodoo (S.D.N.Y. Case 1:24-cv-04991), expected around mid-2026. A large settlement or judgment, as in the $420M Skillz v. Papaya case, would show material financial exposure.
BeReal reports profitability or a defensible ad-revenue milestone before 2027. Would show Voodoo's consumer-app pivot can compete against Meta and TikTok rather than just burn cash.
Key numbers
- 2025 revenue $778M, up 16% YoY
- Hyper-casual share of revenue: 100% (2021) to 22% (2024)
- No priced equity round since 2021 ($2.1B mark)
Named risks
- Active Skillz litigation over Blitz app false-advertising claims, with a comparable case yielding a $420M verdict against a peer in April 2026.
- BeReal not yet profitable, with 2027 target and only €30M 2025 revenue against €500M acquisition cost.
- No new priced equity round since 2021, valuation stale at $1.8 to 2.1B while 2025 financing was debt.
- Core hyper-casual prototyping workflow is template-driven and exposed to generative AI commoditization.
- Regulatory scrutiny rising on in-app ads and youth data privacy affecting ad-heavy monetization model.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| AppLovin (Lion Studios) | losing to | Ad-network ownership gives lower UA costs post-iOS privacy changes, cited 2026 |
| ironSource/Unity | losing to | Ad-network-turned-publisher with structural UA cost edge, per 2026 analysis |
| Meta and TikTok | contesting | Compete for Gen Z attention/ad revenue against BeReal since its June 2024 acquisition |
| Playrix and Dream Games | losing to | Entrenched evergreen casual titles pressure Voodoo's hybrid-casual pivot as of 2026 |
| Skillz | contesting | Active federal false-advertising litigation over Blitz app, ongoing through mid-2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Voodoo profitable in 2025?
- Yes. Voodoo reported €135M EBITDA on €623M revenue for 2024, and self-reported $778M revenue for 2025, up 16% year over year, per its own year-end statement dated 2026-03-10. No 2025 EBITDA figure has been separately disclosed.
- Who owns Voodoo?
- Voodoo is privately held, founded by Alexandre Yazdi and Laurent Ritter in 2013. Goldman Sachs invested $200M in May 2018, Tencent took an undisclosed stake in August 2020 valuing it at $1.4B, and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert bought 16% for €266M in August 2021 at roughly $1.8B valuation.
- Is AppLovin Voodoo's biggest competitor?
- AppLovin's Lion Studios and Unity's ironSource are considered Voodoo's most structurally dangerous rivals because both own ad networks, giving them lower user-acquisition costs since Apple's iOS privacy changes. Voodoo's hyper-casual market share fell from 27.5% in Q3 2020 to 13.8% by H1 2021.
- Could AI replace Voodoo's game studio?
- Voodoo tests roughly 1,000 game prototypes a year with only about 0.4% reaching launch, a template-driven process similar to work generative AI tools are already automating industry-wide as of 2026. Voodoo's player-behavior data and 100+ partner-studio pipeline are harder to replicate purely with AI.
- What happened with Voodoo's BeReal acquisition?
- Voodoo acquired the social app BeReal for €500M in June 2024. BeReal had over 40M monthly active users (85% Gen Z) by 2026, generated about €30M in 2025 revenue, launched U.S. advertising in April 2025, and targets profitability by 2027.
- Is Voodoo facing legal trouble over its Blitz app?
- Yes. Skillz Platform Inc. sued Voodoo SAS in the Southern District of New York (Case 1:24-cv-04991) over false advertising claims tied to its Blitz cash-prize gaming app. A preliminary injunction was denied in March 2026 but the case remained active through mid-2026.
Timeline
- 2026-04-30Skillz wins $420M jury verdict against Papaya Gaming in similar false-advertising case
- 2026-03-12Preliminary injunction denied in Skillz v Voodoo SAS litigation over Blitz app
- 2025-12-31Voodoo reports 2025 revenue of $778M, up 16% year over year
- 2025-04BeReal launches U.S. advertising business, runs 200+ advertiser campaigns
- 2025Voodoo secures €175M+ bank refinancing (debt, not equity)
- 2024-06-11Voodoo acquires BeReal for €500M
- 2021-08GBL acquires 16% stake for €266M, valuing Voodoo at roughly $1.8B
- 2020-08Tencent takes undisclosed minority stake, valuing Voodoo at $1.4B
- 2018-05Goldman Sachs invests $200M via West Street Capital Partners VII
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Voodoo Reports 20% Growth and Strong Profitability in 2024 (2026-03-10)
- 2025: a year of growth and transformation for Voodoo (2026-03-10)
- Voodoo revenue, valuation & funding
- Voodoo (company)
- Voodoo (2026-07-07)
- BeReal is being acquired by mobile apps and games company Voodoo for €500M (2024-06-11)
- Voodoo's Secret Sauce: From 0 to 250M Hybridcasual Revenue in 3 Years (2026-03-10)
- Voodoo Number of Employees 2026 (2026-06-29)
- Skillz Platform Inc. v. Voodoo SAS et al (2026-03-12)
- Skillz Stock's $420 Million Papaya Verdict Rally Faces a Fast Reality Check (2026-07-20)
- Voodoo acquires BeReal to take authentic social network to new heights (2026-03-10)
- Voodoo: $2.10B valuation