(Yicai Global) Feb. 17 -- The Chinese firm behind Sheep a Sheep intends to launch more merchandise related to the hit tile-matching game and release another game targeting women in the second half, according to the chief executive.

Jianyou Technology will build on Sheep a Sheep's intellectual property, including coming up with related games and goods, as it has confidence in extending the mobile game's life cycle, Zhang Jiaxu said to Yicai Global at an industry conference recently.

Yicai Global learned that Jianyou already operates a website for Sheep a Sheep merchandise, selling bags, decorative items, and toys. Sales of a plush toy, priced at CNY49 (USD7), have reached 74 units, the site shows.

The Beijing-based company's team has now expanded to around 20 people, Zhang said. Jianyou's next product, a puzzle-solving social game targeting female users, is already undergoing alpha testing, he added.

The focus is strategic. Women are generally more willing to share and recommend, Zhang said, adding that this is why this target group is important in developing social games. Female users made up 60 percent of Sheep a Sheep's first core users, aged between 18 and 24 years, the CEO added.

The puzzle game got viral quickly last year. Less than two weeks after the mini-program was launched on WeChat, Sheep a Sheep achieved one million daily active users. In the early stage, it only cost around CNY500,000 (USD72,725) to develop the game while its revenue has topped CNY100 million (USD14.5 million), Zhang said.

Success was not obvious. After various initial failures in trying to create a conventional game, the team decided to try something new, promoting Sheep a Sheep as "the most difficult tile-matching game ever." The company said in September that less than 0.1 percent of all players can complete all levels.

Jianyou's founding team only comprises three people, Zhang said. One is a receptionist-turned-game planner, one is a producer of indie games, and the last one is a software development engineer who had never developed a game before.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi