It was perhaps inevitable that video games on mobile phones would become a lucrative industry, but back in 2010 – when the iPhone 4 battled for market share with BlackBerry and Nokia – few would have predicted it would become a $50 billion machine.

Credit must go to Douglas Hare, and his brother Richard, for seeing the scale of opportunity in an embryonic industry.

Relocating to Dundee from California, where the pair had built up one of the largest independent games developers on the west coast, was perhaps linked to a yearning for dreich weather in place of perpetually summer haze, but it has paid off.

Their new business, Outplay Entertainment, is now profitable and on course to double its revenue to £30 million. It has also made its first acquisition.

With more than 200 staff developing titles the company is yet another shining example of Scotland’s success in the games industry, which has spawned the likes of Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings.

Outplay's titles are downloaded by millions of people across the world, and the most curious aspect of this is that they do so for free.

The revenue model is based on what is called “in-app purchases” where players buy extras. The amount of money spent per player per day is a key metric for the industry.

That means games keep generating revenue for longer while the business develops new titles.

So with a growing portfolio and three new titles in the offing, it would seem that chief executive Douglas Hare's assertion than revenue could double this year is on target.