Endless Runner 'Temple Run' Series Races To 1 Billion Downloads (And Other Fun Stats)
I don't even want to try and calculate the amount of time I've wasted playing Temple Run, the popular endless runner app by Imangi Studios that spawned a sequel and several knockoff titles, including a couple of officially licensed spinoffs for Disney's Brave and Oz movies. Temple Run became an instant hit when it was released in 2011, and it was certainly popular in my household as my kids and I competed for high scores and accompanying bragging rights. Given the game's addictive nature, I'm not the least bit surprised that the series has now surpassed 1 billion downloads.
That figure includes downloads for both Temple Run and Temple Run 2. Between the two entertaining time wasters, players like myself have collectively spent over 216,018 years -- yes, YEARS! -- running and swinging and jumping and swiping and so forth. There's been over 32 billion games played, and if you add up the total distance logged by every single player, it comes out to 50 trillion meters. Let that figure sink in, folks.
Click to Enlarge (Image Source: Imangi Studios)
"Having Temple Run reach the one billion downloads mark is a milestone we couldn’t have imagined when we first started out," said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi Studios. "We’re incredibly grateful to all the Temple Run players and our wonderful team. We look forward to continuing to grow the Temple Run franchise, as well as creating additional innovative games."
This is monumental achievement in mobile. The only other franchise to fling past 1 billion downloads is Angry Birds. In this case, Temple Run popularized a new genre in mobile gaming, the endless runner, which involves keeping your character running and moving through obstacles without ever taking a break.
It's also been great for the husband and wife team who created Imangi Studios, Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova. Imangi Studios is now an 11-person operation. There are no plans for a Temple Run 3 at present, though the company hasn't ruled it out.
That figure includes downloads for both Temple Run and Temple Run 2. Between the two entertaining time wasters, players like myself have collectively spent over 216,018 years -- yes, YEARS! -- running and swinging and jumping and swiping and so forth. There's been over 32 billion games played, and if you add up the total distance logged by every single player, it comes out to 50 trillion meters. Let that figure sink in, folks.
;)
Click to Enlarge (Image Source: Imangi Studios)
"Having Temple Run reach the one billion downloads mark is a milestone we couldn’t have imagined when we first started out," said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi Studios. "We’re incredibly grateful to all the Temple Run players and our wonderful team. We look forward to continuing to grow the Temple Run franchise, as well as creating additional innovative games."
This is monumental achievement in mobile. The only other franchise to fling past 1 billion downloads is Angry Birds. In this case, Temple Run popularized a new genre in mobile gaming, the endless runner, which involves keeping your character running and moving through obstacles without ever taking a break.
It's also been great for the husband and wife team who created Imangi Studios, Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova. Imangi Studios is now an 11-person operation. There are no plans for a Temple Run 3 at present, though the company hasn't ruled it out.
