This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake City-based video-game makers of the hit iPhone and iPad fighting game "Infinity Blade" have become as powerful as their sword-wielding hero.
The two games in the popular franchise have now made more than $30 million in just over a year, according to the company, Chair Entertainment, making it one of the most successful games ever for Apple's mobile platform.
The company, led by co-founder and creative director Donald Mustard and his brother, co-founder and technical director Geremy Mustard, announced Thursday that the newly released "Infinity Blade II" already has earned more than $5 million since it debuted a month ago.
"It took us about three months for 'Infinity Blade I' to pass $5 million in net revenue. But it took 'Infinity Blade II' less than a month," Donald Mustard said Thursday. "It's selling faster. It's just doing great. It's performing beyond our expectations."
The newest game reached No. 1 on Apple's iTunes App Store within 10 hours of its release on Dec. 1, Mustard said, and remained at that spot for much of December. It was No. 65 on iTunes' Top 100 on Thursday.
The "Infinity Blade" franchise is a series of sword-and-sorcery-based fighting games about a faceless hero who in the first game tries to avenge his father's death by competing against a string of enemies. In the sequel, the same hero then tries to find the one who forged his legendary sword, called "Infinity Blade."
The franchise's backstory has also produced a book written by popular fantasy author Brandon Sanderson and a newly released soundtrack of the game's music.
The games — developed using the "Unreal Engine 3" graphics software made by Chair's parent company, Epic Games — are available for the iPhone and iPad for $6.99.
"The success of the 'Infinity Blade' franchise is testament to our talented team who is devoted to making games we want to play, all while using Unreal Engine technology to redefine what is expected from games on iOS devices," Epic Games President Michael Capps said in a statement Thursday.
With more than 500,000 apps available for the iPhone and iPad and a fiercely competitive market on the iTunes App Store, it has been difficult for the vast majority of app developers to make money. But Donald Mustard said game makers need to take advantage of those devices' touchscreens in order to be successful.
"The reason we think 'Infinity Blade' has been so successful is because we focus almost completely on making an app that really is customized and unique to the device," he said. "It really was designed to take advantage of the unique properties of having a touchscreen."
Chair is developing additional downloadable content for "Infinity Blade II" that would add multiplayer functionality to the game. The patch, which has not been dated yet, will be made available for free.
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