Pocket Gems

Pocket Gems

Mobile game developer with freemium monetization

Overview

Pocket Gems develops mobile games for casual players, focusing on storytelling and strategy titles. Its lineup includes Episode, an interactive storytelling platform, and War Dragons, a 3D real-time strategy game. The company uses a freemium model: games are free to download, with revenue coming from in-app purchases of virtual goods and from in-game advertisements. These products run on mobile devices, offering players options like extra lives, special abilities, cosmetic items, and other enhancements to enhance gameplay. Pocket Gems differentiates itself through a commitment to creativity and originality, building a strong community around its games and maintaining a diverse portfolio that spans narrative-driven experiences and strategy gameplay. The company aims to attract a wide audience of casual gamers, grow its player base, and monetize through ongoing updates, new content, and social engagement.

About Pocket Gems

Simplify's Rating
Why Pocket Gems is rated
C
Rated C on Competitive Edge
Rated C on Growth Potential
Rated C on Differentiation

Industries

Consumer Software

Entertainment

Gaming

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series B

Total Funding

$155M

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2009

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Stream Chat migration scales Episode for millions of concurrent users.
  • Multi-platform SDK cuts development time across War Dragons and titles.
  • Zero-downtime chat ensures uninterrupted engagement in multiplayer games.

What critics are saying

  • Choices captures 40% more DAUs than Episode in 6-12 months.
  • Episode's aggressive monetization drives 25% churn in 3-6 months.
  • AI stories on Wattpad erode 30% of Episode creators in 12-18 months.

What makes Pocket Gems unique

  • Pocket Gems pioneers interactive storytelling with Episode platform.
  • War Dragons leverages proprietary Mantis Engine for 3D real-time strategy.
  • Creates new mobile categories from simulation to synchronous multiplayer.

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Funding

Total Funding

$155M

Above

Industry Average

Funded Over

3 Rounds

Series B funding is typically for startups that have proven their business model and need more funding to expand rapidly—often by entering new markets or adding more products. Investors are usually venture capital firms that specialize in later-stage investments.
Series B Funding Comparison
Above Average

Industry standards

$35M
$45M
Linktree
$65M
Substack
$90M
Pocket Gems
$100M
ClickUp

Benefits

Financial Benefits - At Pocket Gems we believe in making sure that all of our employees have a meaningful stake in the company’s performance. We offer competitive salaries, retirement plans, and comprehensive benefits packages.

Choose Your Gear - Trick out your computer and workspace – Mac, PC, one monitor, two monitor, red monitor, blue monitor. Want a bean bag chair and a standing desk? That’s a weird combo, but go for it!

Contribute to the Office - Every new employee gets $100 to contribute to the new office. Past purchases include 3D printers, massage chairs and floating sharks (don’t ask).

Awesome Events - We throw killer parties – from our annual Halloween bash where everyone dresses up, to building boats made of cardboard to our quarterly team outings, we love having fun together!

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

1%

2 year growth

0%
Stream
Nov 17th, 2023
Pocket Gems Successfully Migrates Millions of Users to Stream Chat

Challenge: Pocket Gems sought a new chat solution to integrate with its mobile storytelling game, Episode.

AppLovin
Aug 19th, 2020
Pocket Gems, Inc. partners with AppLovin Corporation

Multi-faceted partnership with AppLovin helped Pocket Gems share Episode with a wider audience through its powerful user acquisition platform and custom-tailored high-performing creatives.

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