Volley Buys ‘Question of the Day’ Developer Matchbox.io in Multi-Million Dollar Deal
Voice game developer Volley has acquired voice app developer Matchbox.io, developer of the ‘Question of the Day’ trivia game, for an unspecified multi-million dollar price tag. The popular Alexa and Google Assistant-enabled games created by Matchbox will join “The Price is Right” and“Song Quiz” in Volley’s growing stable of games.
Trivia Sale
The “Question of the Day” game for Alexa and Google Assistant has a simple premise offering a new trivia question each day in a wide range of subjects with multiple-choice answers. As users play, they can rack up points, badges, and other digital rewards for their diligence. The game has a 4-star average rating from nearly 23,000 reviews on Amazon, and the same rating on Google Play though only 65 reviews there.
“Matchbox.io’s ‘Question of the Day’ is a beloved, award-winning skill with wide-reaching appeal, making it the perfect addition to our suite of interactive voice games that engage users on a daily basis,” Volley CEO Max Child said. “Voice gaming is the most vibrant space in voice-controlled apps and the addition of ‘Question of the Day’ to the Volley portfolio will provide more entertainment for current customers of both companies.”
Volley On
Volley has been pushing ahead in voice games since launching in 2016. Song Quiz was its first big hit, but original games and licensed properties have followed at a steady rate. The company began accelerating its spread last year when it acquired game studio Voxion to boost its game lineup and potentially use Voxion’s tech to build games that can connect to smartphones. Soon after, Volley debuted a new Google Assistant puzzle game called Magic Word combining audio and visual clues like GIFs and music. Volley then partnered with The Price is Right owner Fremantle to launch the voice game based on the show to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Creative voice game developers have been experimenting with a lot of unique approaches to the medium. Game studio Earplay published the audio haunted house ghost investigation game The Orpheus Device, while Doppio Games produced Pac-Man Waka Waka, an Echo Show Pac-Man game with movement controls based on speaking the made-up Wakanese language. The value of games as a way to entice people to try and stick with a voice assistant and related devices is growing, and innovation in the field will likely heat rivalry among developers more over time.
“We’re seeing a clear consumer desire for daily content that keeps them engaged and continuously learning,” said Sarah Andrew Wilson, Chief Content Officer at Matchbox.io. “We believe the millions of players who enjoy ‘Question of the Day’ will love the variety of additional games and entertainment they’ll find on Volley.”
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