Game developer Mighty Kingdom’s boss has stepped down after less than a year in the role

Mighty Kingdom’s managing director has stepped down and the shares remain suspended, after the game developer earlier floated the prospect of a material acquisition.

David Yin has stepped down from his role as Mighty Kingdom managing director. Picture: Supplied.

Game developer Mighty Kingdom’s managing director has stepped down after just eight months in the role, with his plans to turn the beleaguered company around seemingly unfulfilled.

David Yin, who took the top job in March, resigned on Friday, along with non-executive director Ian Hogg, who has been on the board since August 2022.

Mighty Kingdom was embroiled in a bitter fight for control for much of the second half of last year, with Adelaide entrepreneur Shane Yeend attempting to roll the board and install himself and a handpicked team of directors, none of whom had any gaming experience, installed to the board.

Mr Yeend had earlier been locked in a stoush with the company, after failing to pay for about half of the $4m in shares he acquired in a 2022 emergency capital raise.

Mr Yeend succeeded in ousting former chair Michelle Guthrie from the board last year, but failed in his bid to win control of the company.

Following that defeat, he sold his shares.

Shane Yeend says he is still considering legal action against the company.

Mr Yin and a group of investors and existing shareholders subsequently tipped more than $8m into the company, with a vision espoused earlier this year to hit profitability in the current financial year.

Mighty Kingdom shares were placed in a trading halt on November 4, with the company stating two days later it was about to announce a “material acquisition’’ with an associated capital raise process under way.

The company’s shares, which have more than halved over the past year, remain in a trading halt, with the capital raise yet to be finalised.

The company told the ASX on Friday that it would give a further update to shareholders at its annual general meeting to be held on Wednesday, November 29.

“Reflecting a fresh direction for Mighty Kingdom to deliver growth in the future, managing

director and CEO David Yin has tendered his resignation which the board has accepted with immediate effect,’’ the company said.

“Mighty Kingdom intends to update shareholders shortly around forward plans and capital management initiatives prior to a lifting of its voluntary suspension.’’

Mighty Kingdom’s board could also face the prospect of a spill motion at this week’s meeting, should it chalk up a second strike against its remuneration report.

Last year the company’s remuneration report attracted a 56.05 per cent vote against its adoption.

Michelle Guthrie left the Mighty Kingdom board last year. .

The company’s latest report showed it boosted its quarterly game revenue for the three months to the end of September by 68 per cent over the previous quarter to $1.2m, and trimmed operating costs by 10 per cent.

It still burned through $2.4m in cash however, and had just $891,000 in cash left at the end of the quarter.

The quarterly report did say Mighty Kingdom was expecting $2.2m in federal and state government grants and tax incentives to hit the balance sheet in coming months.

The company launched the Power Rangers Mighty Force game in August and also delivered two more games for Google’s Fitbit Ace during the period.

The company’s shares last traded at 4.5c, having undergone a 15 for one consolidation in August.

Prior to taking top job at Mighty Kingdom, Mr Yin spent about 15 years in Singapore working across companies including Nokia and Google, while also mentoring start-ups and angel investing.

The company this year got rid of its offices, going fully remote to save costs, and Mr Yin said the staff retained a high-quality skill set.

“If we could capitalise the company really well – raise enough funds to then focus on what we are really good at – creativity and quality – then there is a solid turnaround story,’’ he told The Australian in June.

The company was focussed on growing its work for hire business, and was also codeveloping games with other developers.

Mighty Kingdom listed in April 2021, having raised $18m in new shares priced at 30c.

It rapidly burned through that money, promoting the need for the emergency $7m capital raising in August 2022.

By January 2023, the company had turfed founder and managing director Phil Mayes, and installed Mr Yeend as chief executive on a nominal salary.

The failure of entities associated with Mr Yeend to pay for the second tranche of shares in the capital raise drove an irrevocable rift between him and the company however.

“Once it became apparent that Gamestar did not have the available funds to settle, a position confirmed by Mr Yeend to multiple parties, we had no choice but to terminate the share subscription agreement,’’ Ms Guthrie told last year’s meeting.

Mr Yeend has consistently denied this version of events and in a statement to The Australian last year denied that his companies lacked the funds to complete the deal, saying it was Mighty Kingdom’s failure to meet conditions which led to the non-payment.

Mr Yeend threatened the company with a class action however it has not eventuated to date.

He told The Australian he was still considering his options on the legal front

Originally published as Game developer Mighty Kingdom’s boss has stepped down after less than a year in the role