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You might not have heard of it, but in 2015 the third most trending search term on Google was 'Agar.io'. Only basketball player Lamar Odom and Charlie Hebdo had bigger leaps in relative popularity than the massive multiplayer online game, which was released last April by gaming network Miniclip.

In Turkey, the game, in which players take control of a circular cell that consumes others, was even co-opted for political purposes: two smaller parties printed billboard ads depicting themselves as cells eating bigger parties. 'Games can often mean hundred-million-dollar budgets,' says Rob Small, founder and CEO of Miniclip, its publisher. 'It's been fascinating to see how such a simplistic game can grow into such a successful product.' And although
the company is now a tax exile, in origin it is a heroic London startup.

Agario Io Miniclip

The smash hit game! Control your cell and eat other players to grow larger! Play with millions of players around the world and try to become the biggest cell of all! Agario is an addictive io game created by Matheus Valadares and published by Miniclip. In this fun-addicting multiplayer game it's all about to eat or to be eaten. But there are two simple rules to follow. First: you only can consume targets that are smaller than you as you should match the color to evolve yourself.

Free online games » Miniclip » Agario game Agario game This multi-player game is placed in the category of skill games and is one of that strategy games where is challenged your ability to think rational in extreme situations.

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Started by Small in 2001 and now based out of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Miniclip claims to have more than 200 million monthly players for its mobile games, including 60 million for Agar.io, which has attracted two billion YouTube views.

Agario Miniclip Games

'Mobile now represents about 95 per cent of the business,' says Small, 40. The 170-person company, which has had 800 million downloads of its games, moved into smartphone apps in 2009. Its mobile prowess - initially revenues were produced by browser ads but now come from in-app purchases - persuaded Chinese giant Tencent to purchase a majority stake in February 2015.

Miniclip Krunker Io

One of the reasons Agar.io did so well was the people who shared it - YouTuber PewDiePie, who has more than 42 million subscribers, uploaded nine videos of himself playing the game. To make sure its titles have popular appeal, Miniclip picks up on games that have had success: Agar.io, for instance, was originally developed and released by 20-year-old Brazilian Matheus Valadares. 'We started working with him towards the end of April 2015, when the game already had more than
five million players a day,' says Small.

Agario Miniclip Unblocked

Valadares puts Agar.io's appeal down to simplicity. 'You don't need to read the instructions to start playing,' he says. 'The initial version didn't even have them.'