Glu Mobile, the maker of games like “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood”, “Deer Hunter”, and “Diner Dash”, is today unveiling another celebrity-branded game. This time, we’re taking a caricatured look into the life and times of pop queen Britney Spears with “Britney Spears: American Dream.”
As with these types of games, the exact goal is unclear. But Glu Mobile describes it as a way to allow “players to morph into pop stars fighting for fame and fortune in the music industry.”
In short, it’s much like the Glu Mobile games featuring Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry. Users compete as pop stars and design cover art, ‘record hit singles’ (which includes no recording or mixing of any kind), and perform on stage from small venues to international stages.
Of course, there are plenty of opportunities for in-app purchases, with prices ranging from $0.99 to $99.
If you recall correctly, Glu has seen both success and failure with these sorts of games.
For example, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood has seen 42 million downloads and generated $157.8 million in non-GAAP revenue as of March 2016. Whereas Kim Kardashian: Hollywood reached number two on the iOS app charts on its second day of availability, Katy Perry Pop only managed to hit number 101 at its peak.
“The greatest challenge in developing these titles is matching the right celebrity with the right game engine,” said Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi. “Simultaneously, maximizing the partnership with everything else going on in that celebrity’s world.”
Hopefully for Glu, the company matched Britney Spears with the right game engine. Though the company saw shares pop with the announcement of a forthcoming Taylor Swift title in February, Glu has shown signs of fiscal weakness.
The Street credits this to deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, and weak operating cash flow.
Both “Britney Spears: American Dream” and the forthcoming Taylor Swift game should give the game maker a bump, but as Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry have taught us, nothing is a sure thing.
You can find the app on iOS here.