Russian-born brothers Igor and Dmitry Bukhman, behind popular titles such as Township, Fishdom and Homescapes, topped the list with a fortune of £12.54bn
12:34, 19 Aug 2024Updated 12:35, 19 Aug 2024
The creators of Candy Crush and the founders of mobile game producer Playrix have secured top spots on the inaugural Sunday Times Gaming Rich List 2024.
Russian-born brothers Igor and Dmitry Bukhman, behind popular titles such as Township, Fishdom and Homescapes, topped the list with a fortune of £12.54billion, landing them in 27th place on the overall Sunday Times Rich List 2024. This comes after their Dublin-based company withdrew from operations in Russia and Belarus in 2022 due to the Ukraine invasion.
The list reveals that over a quarter of the gamers and developers are under 35, with an average age of 45. Candy Crush's Riccardo Zacconi, Mel Morris and Sebastian Knutsson, all made it to the top 10, with fortunes of £410million, £312million and £225million respectively.
The tile-matching game has been downloaded over three billion times since its launch 12 years ago. The highest-placed gamers were KSI and the Sidemen, who collectively ranked joint 21st with a fortune of £50million. KSI initially gained popularity through his YouTube videos playing Fifa before venturing into music and boxing.
Back in 2013, he set up the Sidemen a squad of YouTube sensations famed for their challenge vids, hilarious sketches and gaming banter. The rich list features three women, including gaming mogul Debbie Bestwick, ex-boss of Team17, who's sitting on a cool £130million, and Tamsin O'Luanaigh from VR firm nDreams, who boasts £26million alongside her other half Patrick.
Wendy Irvin-Braben from Frontier Developments, a gaming developer, is the sole woman crashing the top 10, ranking in at number 10 with hubby David and a joint stash of £175million. Dominating the rest of the upper ranks are gaming giants like Herman Narula from Improbable, bagging second place with a mega fortune of £780million, while the Houser brothers, Sam and Dan from Rockstar Games, were in fourth place with £350million.
Hot on their digital heels is Lior Shiff from Tripledot Studios, who nabbed fifth spot. Scooping the sixth spot is Garry Newman, the brains behind FacePunch Studios, hoarding £335million, with Neil Taylor, one of the founding bods of UK retailer Game, landing eighth with £230million.
Robert Watts, who put together the Sunday Times Gaming Rich List, spilled: "Our first gaming rich list shows who is earning well from hits such as Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto and Candy Crush. Making a fortune while playing or creating video games may sound like living the dream to many young people. This rich list tells the rags-to-riches stories of people who have done exactly that."