From The Bench
From The Bench is a Spanish mobile game developer specializing in officially licensed sports manager and card strategy games across football, basketball, baseball, NFL, hockey, and cricket, serving over one million daily users globally through freemium apps on iOS and Android.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersElda, Spain
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What From The Bench does
From The Bench (legal entity: Sky Apps Entertainment S.L.) is a Spanish mobile game development studio founded in 2008 and headquartered in Alicante, Spain. The company specializes in sports-oriented, multi-platform social games, building a portfolio of 10+ titles across football/soccer, American football (NFL), basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB), hockey, and cricket. Its core products include Fantasy Manager Football, NBA General Manager / Basketball Fantasy Manager, NFL Manager, Flip Baseball, Flip Hockey, Top Stars Football, and Real Cricket World Cup, with adjacent casual titles such as Bingo Go!, HardBall, and Football Bros. The underlying technology is a mobile gaming platform that integrates real-time sports statistics into game mechanics, automatically updating player card values and in-game economies based on actual on-field performance. Multiplayer competition systems (weekly leagues, tournaments, head-to-head modes) and card-based collection systems with upgrades, trades, and auctions form the core gameplay loops.
The company's business model is product-led freemium: games are free to download globally via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, with revenue generated through in-app purchases of virtual currency (coins, cash), player upgrades, and premium content. User acquisition is primarily organic through app store discovery, supplemented by social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn), Zendesk community forums, and influencer partnerships with gaming content creators. The company serves a long-tail consumer audience of sports enthusiasts and casual mobile gamers, reporting over one million daily active users across its portfolio. Games are localized in English, Spanish, German, Italian, and Greek, with global distribution.
From The Bench holds official licensing agreements with the NFLPA (National Football League Players Association), MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association), NBA, and major European football clubs including Real Madrid, Liverpool FC, FC Barcelona, Juventus, and FC Porto. These licenses grant rights to use player names, likenesses, team logos, and rosters in branded fantasy manager and card strategy games. The company has received institutional investment from Bonsai Venture Capital, Caixa Capital Risc, and Spanish government-backed entities ENISA and INNO EN. Leadership is founder-led, with José Poveda (CEO), Felipe Alonso (CTO), David Cremades (CMO), and Santi Perez (CCO) overseeing a team of 11-50 employees.
From The Bench firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- From The Bench
- Legal name
- Sky Apps Entertainment S.L.
- Website
- https://fromthebenchgames.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- From The Bench is a Spanish mobile game developer specializing in officially licensed sports manager and card strategy games across football, basketball, baseball, NFL, hockey, and cricket, serving over one million daily users globally through freemium apps on iOS and Android.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
From The Bench industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Sports Gaming
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Season-Long Fantasy Platforms & Commissioners (MPAEAHAB)
Keywords
Where From The Bench is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Elda
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
From The Bench business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- In-App Purchases: Freemium model with in-game currency (coins, cash) purchases, player upgrades, and premium content
- Premium Game Downloads: Base games are free with premium features and content available for purchase
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free-to-play base game with optional in-app purchases |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
From The Bench product offering
Product offeringCore offering
From The Bench is a mobile game development studio that designs, develops, and publishes multi-platform sports-themed social and fantasy games for iOS and Android. The company leverages official licenses from major U.S. sports player associations (NFLPA, MLBPA) and soccer clubs (FC Porto, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona) to deliver fantasy manager and casual sports gaming experiences to global consumers.
Product overview
From The Bench is a sports games development company offering a portfolio of mobile manager and card-based strategy games across multiple sports. The core products include Basketball Fantasy Manager 2020 (NBA basketball simulation), Fantasy Manager Football (football management with official club licenses), Top Stars Football (card-based football game), and NFL Manager (American football simulation). Additional offerings include Flip Baseball and Flip Hockey (card-based games), club-branded games like FC Porto Flip and Liverpool Fantasy Manager, Real Cricket World Cup, Bingo Go! bingo game, and casual games like Football Bros and HardBall. The portfolio spans football/soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, cricket, and bingo across mobile platforms (iOS and Android) with both free-to-play and premium models.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Fantasy Manager Football: Official football manager game with licenses from major football clubs.
- NBA General Manager / Basketball Fantasy Manager
- NFL Manager
- Flip Baseball
- Flip Hockey
- Top Stars Football
- Bingo Pets
- Real Cricket World Cup
- HardBall - Mini Caps Soccer League
- FC Porto Flip
- Football Bros
Products and services
- Fantasy Manager Football Mobile fantasy football manager game built on officially licensed soccer club partnerships, allowing players to build squads and compete head-to-head. Targeted at European football fans on iOS and Android.
- Basketball Fantasy Manager Mobile basketball fantasy manager game leveraging NBA player likeness licenses, enabling users to draft rosters and compete in multiplayer leagues. Targeted at NBA fans on iOS and Android.
- NFL Manager Mobile American football fantasy manager game with officially licensed NFLPA players, supporting live data and multiplayer competitions. Targeted at NFL fans on iOS and Android.
- NBA General Manager 2018 Mobile NBA fantasy manager game with officially licensed NBA player likenesses, allowing users to manage rosters and compete online. Targeted at NBA fans on iOS and Android.
- Top Stars Football
Quantifiable outcome
- 1M+ daily active users
Companies that use From The Bench
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
From The Bench technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
From The Bench partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and former_core.
- NFLPA (National Football League Players Association)coreOfficial license to use NFL player names, likenesses, and statistics for NFL Manager game series
- MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association)coreOfficial license for Flip Baseball game featuring MLBPA players
- Major Football Clubs (Real Madrid, Liverpool FC, FC Barcelona, Juventus)coreOfficial club licensing for branded fantasy manager games with official team names, logos, and player rosters
- NBAformer_corePreviously held official NBA license for Basketball General Manager games; license was lost temporarily but not definitive according to company statement
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
From The Bench competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gameloft: Gameloft publishes multiple mobile sports titles (football, baseball, etc.) and competes with From The Bench in the freemium licensed mobile sports game category with similar app-store distribution.
- Nordeus (Top Eleven): Top Eleven is a long-running mobile football manager with live multiplayer leagues, directly comparable to From The Bench's Fantasy Manager Football in gameplay and target audience.
- Konami (eFootball / PES Mobile): Konami's eFootball (formerly PES Mobile) is a direct competitor in mobile football gaming with similar freemium and licensed-club mechanics that compete head-to-head with Fantasy Manager Football.
- Wildlife Studios: Wildlife Studios publishes mobile sports games (including football titles) at comparable scale to From The Bench, using freemium, app-store-driven distribution.
- Miniclip: Miniclip operates a portfolio of mobile sports games (including 8 Ball Pool and football titles) under the same freemium, app-store-led model that From The Bench uses.
- Electronic Arts (EA Mobile): EA's mobile division publishes FIFA Mobile, Madden NFL Mobile, and NBA Live Mobile, directly competing with From The Bench's NFL Manager, Fantasy Manager Football, and Basketball Fantasy Manager in licensed mobile sports management.
- SEGA (Football Manager Mobile): SEGA's Football Manager Mobile is the canonical football management franchise and directly competes with From The Bench's Fantasy Manager Football for the same sports-manager enthusiast segment.
Broad incumbents
- Tencent: Tencent is a global gaming incumbent that operates mobile sports titles (including FIFA Mobile in some regions) at vastly larger scale, competing with From The Bench across distribution and UA spend.
- NetEase: NetEase is a major mobile gaming incumbent with a wide sports portfolio; its scale dwarfs From The Bench and shapes the global mobile sports gaming landscape they compete in.
Emerging players
- Dream11: Dream11 is the largest fantasy sports platform in India, addressing overlapping sports-fan demand for fantasy team management; while region-specific and DFS-focused, it represents adjacent competition for sports-engagement wallet share.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
From The Bench social profiles
Digital presenceFrom The Bench financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
From The Bench leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
From The Bench funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
From The Bench M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about From The Bench
What does From The Bench do?
From The Bench is a mobile game development studio that designs, develops, and publishes multi-platform sports-themed social and fantasy games for iOS and Android. The company leverages official licenses from major U.S. sports player associations (NFLPA, MLBPA) and soccer clubs (FC Porto, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona) to deliver fantasy manager and casual sports gaming experiences to global consumers.
Is From The Bench a public or private company?
From The Bench is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was From The Bench founded?
From The Bench was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is From The Bench based?
From The Bench is headquartered in Elda, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does From The Bench make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. In-App Purchases are the primary driver. The others are premium Game Downloads.
Who are From The Bench's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gameloft, Nordeus (Top Eleven), Konami (eFootball / PES Mobile), Wildlife Studios, Miniclip, Electronic Arts (EA Mobile) and SEGA (Football Manager Mobile). Broad incumbents are Tencent and NetEase. Dream11 is listed as an emerging player.
Does From The Bench have an API?
No public API is recorded for From The Bench.
What industry is From The Bench in?
From The Bench's product category is Mobile Sports Gaming. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAKAB, Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores, with a secondary code of MPAEAHAB, Season-Long Fantasy Platforms & Commissioners. Its SIC code is 7900.