Tapulous
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software and video game development and publishing |
| Predecessor | Gogo Apps |
| Founded | February 2008 |
| Founder | Bart Decrem, Andrew Lacy |
| Defunct | January 9, 2014 |
| Fate | Operations discontinued; games removed from App Store |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California , United States |
Area served | iOS ecosystem |
Key people | Bart Decrem (CEO until 2014) |
| Products | Tap Tap Revenge series |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company (from July 2010) |
| Parent | Disney Mobile (Disney Interactive) |
Tapulous, Inc. was a software and video game development and publishing company located in Palo Alto, California. Operating as a fully owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company within the Disney Interactive division known as Disney Mobile, Tapulous gained prominence for its Tap Tap music game franchise, which surpassed thirty-five million downloads.
Established in February 2008 with a focus on creating software for the iOS ecosystem, Tapulous quickly rose to fame through Tap Tap Revenge, which attracted over one million users during its initial month and became the top free game downloaded on the App Store in 2008. The company broadened its Tap Tap Revenge lineup by forming strategic collaborations, including one with Universal Records. By December 2009, Tapulous was generating close to $1 million in monthly revenue. In July 2010, it was acquired by The Walt Disney Company. Operations were discontinued on January 9, 2014, with all games being withdrawn from the App Store.
History
Apple introduced an official SDK for the iOS/iPhone platform in October 2007, following the emergence of unofficial iOS applications.
In reaction to this, Tapulous was launched in January 2008 under the original name "Gogo Apps" by entrepreneurs Bart Decrem, who had previously contributed to Firefox’s launch and led Flock, Inc., alongside Andrew Lacy, a former consultant at McKinsey & Company. The company soon adopted the name Tapulous and recruited developers Nate True and Guy English to develop Tap Tap Revenge as an early title for the App Store, although it was released shortly after the store’s debut. Additionally, Layton Duncan and Tristan O'Tierney created another launch title called Twinkle. Initial capital was provided by Rob Theis in 2007, followed by $1.8 million from investors such as Andreas Bechtolsheim, Roy Thiele-Sardina through HighBAR Ventures, Marc Benioff, and the late Rajeev Motwani.
Within just one month of release, Tap Tap Revenge became one of the leading iOS games, boasting over one million users and installations on approximately 20% of all iPhone and iPod Touch devices. By December 2008, it ranked as the most-downloaded free game on the App Store for that year. In April 2009, comScore identified it as the most-installed application on the platform. Tapulous continued to expand its Tap Tap series and in June 2009 formed a partnership with major label Universal Records to incorporate their artists into its games.
On July 1, 2010, The Walt Disney Company acquired Tapulous and integrated it into Disney Mobile, part of Disney Interactive Media Group. Bart Decrem stepped down as CEO on January 7, 2014. Shortly thereafter, Tapulous announced plans to remove all Tap Tap applications from the App Store on January 10 and to discontinue server support by February.
