Keywords Studios, the international technical and creative services provider to the global video games industry, announces it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Helpshift, an innovative consumer-facing digital support platform to enhance its player support and engagement capability.
Helpshift is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in India and the UK, and has developed a market leading proprietary software-as-a-service (“SAAS”) customer support automation tool used by clients including Supercell, Tencent and Zynga.
The technology efficiently manages and resolves customer support issues in real-time within its clients’ mobile apps, combining conversational AI, automation, translation and agent support. Helpshift is highly complementary to Keywords’ existing player support offering and will enable the business to cover the full spectrum of support needs and service levels within immersive channels like mobile apps, social platforms, gaming consoles, and XR experiences.
Helpshift will be integrated with Keywords’ Player Support business and will build on the long-standing existing partnership which has seen the two groups work together effectively for the benefit of many clients. This will further be enhanced by Keywords’ Kantan AI studio, which utilises a highly advanced machine translation tool and will expand the number of languages supported in-app by Helpshift’s platform and facilitate more efficient multilingual player support to the benefit of clients.
By combining these capabilities with Helpshift, Keywords will create a market leading customer support platform. It will leverage Helpshift’s technology for an efficient consumer experience whilst enabling a team of 2,000 experienced player support agents to provide higher value interactions, and together, creates an unrivalled offering for customers.
Bertrand Bodson, CEO of Keywords Studios commented: “We are excited to welcome the talented Helpshift team to Keywords after partnering with them for a number of years. We have seen first-hand the power of their technology and its ability to improve player engagement and retention. We believe being able to deliver a holistic player experience solution will be a compelling offering for our clients and further support our strategic partnership ambitions with them. We are really looking forward to working with the team and supporting their growth as we continue to deliver against our long-term strategy for the Group.”
Eric Vermillion, CEO of Helpshift, commented: “Helpshift is thrilled to join Keywords, and we believe that by becoming part of the Group we will drive the long-term growth of our platform and create tremendous value for our customers. We are excited to be able to combine with KantanAI and Player Support to provide a holistic, modern support journey fusing conversational AI, automation, translation, agent support, and more. Together, we will be able to cover the full spectrum of support needs and service levels, applying Helpshift’s technology for efficiency and the seamless experience consumers want, and leveraging Keywords’ agents to provide higher value-add interactions. We are looking forward to paving the road for the future of support with the wider Keywords group.”
About Helpshift
Helpshift provides software designed to rid the world of bad customer service. Purpose-built for the needs of modern, mobile-first businesses, Helpshift gives users the simplest mobile “always on” help experience that is fast and feels as natural and personal as talking to friends and family. Helpshift’s in-app chat, bots and automation combine to provide immediate, automated solutions to many issues. Leading brands like Glu Mobile, Playrix, and Brex use Helpshift to serve billions of support interactions monthly. Helpshift is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe.
To learn more about Helpshift, visit helpshift.com
About Keywords Studios
Keywords Studios is an international technical and creative services provider to the global video games industry. Established in 1998, and now with over 70 facilities in 26 countries strategically located in Asia, Australia, the Americas, and Europe, it provides services across the entire content development life cycle through its Create, Globalise and Engage service lines to a blue-chip client base of over 950 clients across the globe.
Keywords Studios has a strong market position, providing services to 23 of the top 25 most prominent games companies. Across the games and entertainment industry, clients include Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Konami, Microsoft, Netflix, Riot Games, Square Enix, Supercell, TakeTwo, Tencent and Ubisoft. Recent titles worked on include Anthem, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Valorant, League of Legends, Fortnite, Clash Royale and Doom Eternal.
Keywords Studios is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (KWS.L).