Match Group's CEO Regrets Blowing $50K on 'Clash of Clans'

Match Group's CEO Bernard Kim recently revealed to the on-stage interviewer at the New Street Research’s online dating summit that he has spent a shocking amount of cash on games. “I’ve personally spent $50,000 in three months in Clash of Clans, and I still look back at that with lots of shame,” Kim said.  And most of us can resonate with this regret at overspending on in-app purchases and perks while playing mobile games. According to The Verge, the business magnate was discussing the online merits of dating apps and drawing comparisons between apps like Tinder and addictive mobile games that encourage players to enhance their game plan with in-game item purchases. 

Sharing an anecdote while being an honored speaker at the summit, he revealed that he still regrets spending approximately $50,000 for the Clash of Clans game, "No one plays these games forever. After a certain point, people churn out of a game experience. And what are you left with? I’ve personally spent $50,000 in three months in Clash of Clans, and I still look back at that with lots of shame. I’m like 'oh my God, what did I really get out of that experience?' Nothing, other than, like, a really amazing wall, which is not cool today."

He went on to compare the unnecessary addictive mobile games with dating apps and praised apps like Tinder for providing customers with the potential of meeting a life partner. He said that this might be more rewarding than shelling out hard-earned cash over gaming apps. Kim described the experience of finding someone on Tinder attractive: "You meeting your wife, that’s an immeasurable reward, something that will last a lifetime, that will lead to unbelievable happiness. Maybe sometimes despair, but at least you’re feeling something!”

According to Protos, Bernard Kim was earlier the president of Zynga and was heavily involved in the developer’s move into blockchain gaming and NFTs. But lately, he has been advocating for customers to ditch the idea of spending money on in-game purchases. As in-charge of the Match Group, he is now focusing on predictive rewards of finding love online.

Match Group is known to own and make profits from subscriptions to dating apps like Tinder, Hinge and Match.com. When the on-stage interviewer asked Kim to “compare the elasticity of dating at Tinder versus mobile games," and whether the "cyclicality pressuring net adds in 4Q and Q1,” the Match Group CEO took the opportunity to convince the audience into using subscription-based dating apps and finding love rather than blowing $16,666 a month on Clash of Clans as he did.

He quickly circled on the topic of switching to dating apps like Tinder and how the possibilities of finding a soulmate can be “literally endless.” Enticing the viewers and listeners over finding love was a quick marketing ploy by CEO Kim especially since dating app stock prices managed by the Match Group have fallen considerably in recent months. It has fallen 16% in 2023 and nearly 60% in the last 12 months.