BlackBerry Ltd. on Thursday said it would shut down Scoreloop AG, a German division which helps mobile game-developers manage billing and other functions, providing more evidence the smartphone maker will focus on corporate and government customers as it seeks to return to profitability.
BlackBerry acquired Munich-based Scoreloop in 2011 to encourage developers to create more mobile-gaming apps in a bid to boost device sales. But BlackBerry's effort to compete in the consumer market has struggled against Apple Inc., AAPL +0.19% Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -1.68% and other smartphone rivals, pushing the Waterloo, Ontario, company to return to its traditional enterprise customer base to seek market share gains.
Scoreloop will "discontinue its services as of Dec. 1," a BlackBerry spokeswoman said in an email. "This decision aligns with BlackBerry's strategy to focus developer efforts on delivering the best enterprise solutions for customers." A Scoreloop representative couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
The decision to shutter Scoreloop comes after BlackBerry last month laid off 65 employees who were mainly focused on developing mobile apps for consumers, but retained about 100 people focused on developing apps for enterprise customers. It also follows BlackBerry's deal with Amazon.com Inc.to gain access to the e-commerce company's Appstore to make its smartphones more appealing to consumers while freeing up resources to service the corporate and government markets.
BlackBerry has said it remains committed to selling smartphones and generating a profit from this business, but the company is largely betting its comeback attempt on selling higher-margin mobile-management software and security services used by companies and governments.
Increasingly, investors are betting BlackBerry is on the right track. At midday Thursday, the company's stock was up about 39% since it surprised the market last month by reporting a small quarterly profit and signaled plans to introduce updated mobile-management software. However, the company has yet to prove it can increase revenue and has acknowledged the turnaround effort is challenging.
BlackBerry acquired Munich-based Scoreloop in 2011 to encourage developers to create more mobile-gaming apps in a bid to boost device sales. But BlackBerry's effort to compete in the consumer market has struggled against Apple Inc., AAPL +0.19% Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -1.68% and other smartphone rivals, pushing the Waterloo, Ontario, company to return to its traditional enterprise customer base to seek market share gains.
Scoreloop will "discontinue its services as of Dec. 1," a BlackBerry spokeswoman said in an email. "This decision aligns with BlackBerry's strategy to focus developer efforts on delivering the best enterprise solutions for customers." A Scoreloop representative couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
The decision to shutter Scoreloop comes after BlackBerry last month laid off 65 employees who were mainly focused on developing mobile apps for consumers, but retained about 100 people focused on developing apps for enterprise customers. It also follows BlackBerry's deal with Amazon.com Inc.to gain access to the e-commerce company's Appstore to make its smartphones more appealing to consumers while freeing up resources to service the corporate and government markets.
BlackBerry has said it remains committed to selling smartphones and generating a profit from this business, but the company is largely betting its comeback attempt on selling higher-margin mobile-management software and security services used by companies and governments.
Increasingly, investors are betting BlackBerry is on the right track. At midday Thursday, the company's stock was up about 39% since it surprised the market last month by reporting a small quarterly profit and signaled plans to introduce updated mobile-management software. However, the company has yet to prove it can increase revenue and has acknowledged the turnaround effort is challenging.
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