Look at Gaming #350 | 1.10.2024

GM! Happy Hump Day everyone. Hope your week is going well.

Today’s headline I want to spotlight is about web store platforms for your mobile game.

These are external-game and off-platform monetization channels that supplements the in-game store. The benefits are that these web stores are out of Apple/Android’s control.

There are effectively only two choices: (1) Build Your Own; (2) Use White-Label Platforms.

It’s expensive and intensive to build your own web store so this is usually reserved for large publishers who have the resources and capabilities. The advantageous are that these publishers would be the Merchant of Record, which means they get to save on royalty fees.

These royalty fees are charged by white-label platforms for their services. Since these platforms handle not only the technical elements of the web store but also the payment processing, which includes refunds, chargebacks, fraud, etc. For delivering this ease of use and seamless integrations, these platforms charge as high as 15%. Examples of these service providers are Xsolla and Appcharge.



-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
How to choose a web store platform for your mobile game | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Twitch reportedly laying off 35% of staff | GamesIndustry.biz

2024 predictions for mobile gaming | MobileDevMemo

Podcast: Looking forward to 2024 in mobile gaming (with Matthew Kanterman) | MobileDevMemo


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
2023 Top 5 Themes in Content Monetization | Niko Partners


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
A Comprehensive Guide For RPG Weapons | Kevuru Games

How to choose a web store platform for your mobile game | PGBiz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
PlayStation achieved record 123M monthly active users in December 2023 | GameDeveloper


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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #351 | 1.11.2024

GM! Many maaaannyy games will be launching this year. And these games are going to need help with distribution.

But before we dive in, head over to our web3-only REAL-TIME news channel here.

Influencer marketing is the number one way to get users in web3 gaming. So let's see what are some good tips on executing an influencer strategy.

1. Get the content right. Web3 attention economy is peaking. Airdrop here, bridger there, referral links everywhere. Just having a playdrop campaign isn't enough nor is just giving out WLs. Get the content right by doing something rememberable and topical — like putting a hat on your star character, Sipher INU wif hat.

2. Don't cut corners on legal. Get the contracts, payout structures, timelines, and expectations aligned. Layout the proper benchmarks that you agree to hit and have weekly reviews that those KPIs are met. Having a tight feedback loop will allow you to optimize better while keeping everyone accountable to the agreement. Who's posting? Who's retweeting? When to post and how long are they kept? Can you reuse the content elsewhere? A few questions to consider.

3. Finding the right mix of creators. Imo, follower count is a baseless metric. Optimize for engagement. Even if the following is low, you'd want high quality installs over mass volume, especially if it's a playdrop. Target a 3%+ engagement rate. When doing video-related promos, look out for sporadic but high viewership count (lacks consistency), viewership peaks at the end (viewers could easily skip your promo). Fortunately, the list of web3 gaming influencers are quite small so you don't need to use tools to find time.

4. Retargeting and reengaging. Even after getting these users to playdrop, claim, sign up, or whatever the call to action was, you should always retarget them. Convert them into your discord, set up community managers to engage with these new players effectively. Get their twitter handles, create a twitter list, and use that as your future outreach/retouch list.

These are just a few points to consider! Wish you the best with your guys' launch!!

H/t to Matej over at Brutally Honest for sharing this guide.

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Influencer Marketing Guide for UA: How to Execute in 2024 | Brutally Honest


🌊 MARKET 📞
China and US accounted for more than 50% of the $107 billion spent on mobile games in 2023 | PGBiz

The Golden Twig Awards 2023 | Deconstructor of Fun

Nintendo shares hit record high due to Switch 2 anticipation, Saudi investment speculation | GamesIndustry.biz

Crunchbase: Investments in gaming startups at venture stages in 2023 reached a minimum since 2018 | GameDev Reports


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Financial Comparison of Gaming-Related Public Companies and M&A Capacities - 2024 Edition | Games & Game Industry


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Netflix Games gains traction with installs up 180% year-over-year in 2023, thanks to GTA and others | TechCrunch


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Influencer Marketing Guide for UA: How to Execute in 2024 | Brutally Honest

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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #352 | 1.12.2024

GM GM! Happy Friday. Just a short one today.

2023 was really a banner year for mobile apps. Here are some stats:
• 5-Hours per day (Record highs in time-spent on mobile)
• $171B were spent on mobile
• $362B mobile ad spend (up 8% YoY)

Non-gaming apps led. RPGs was the top genre, accounting for 30% of mobile rev despite being only 3% of downloads.

In other news, Niko Partners did a dive on China's new gaming regulation, there's also more lay offs at Discord and Playtika, and lastly check out The Verge's article on new WiFi.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
2023 saw record highs in time spent on mobile and almost half a million app installs every minute | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Wi-Fi 7 quietly took off while everyone was looking at AI | The Verge

Discord cuts 17% of employees to ‘sharpen its focus’ | GamesBeat

2023 saw record highs in time spent on mobile and almost half a million app installs every minute | PGBiz

New Draft Gaming Regulations in China | Niko Partners

Playtika reduces staff by 10% | GamesIndustry.biz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Switch 2 Allegedly Launches This September, According To An AI Company's Press Release | GameInformer

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Drop a gg!

🔔 Weekly Gaming Digest 👀

In The Loop w/ kapital_k (Week 0️⃣2️⃣ of 2024)

Here are the top five headlines and fundraising announcements plus a collection of content from independent creators that you missed this week!

———

TOP 5 HEADLINES 📣

📌 Data.ai Report Highest Time Spent in Mobile in 2023

📌 Netflix Games Installs Growth 180% YoY & Intro of IAP and Ads

📌 Cut The App Store and Go w/ Web Store for Mobile Games

📌 Unity & Walmart Releases Purchase API for IRL Goods

📌 East Asia Market $380B in 2027

———

thecoreloop FEATURED PICKS 💖:

🗣 Blogs
• Visual Capitalist // 50 Years of Video Games Revenue — link

➡Pods
• Doubl3Tap // Yat Siu (Animoca Brands) — link


💲 Raises
• $106M raised this week. Second Dinner (Marvel Snap creator) raised $100M and Arena AI creators raised $6M.

———

Check out our Substack for the full newsletter!

Look at Gaming #353 | 1.16.2024

GM! Hope everybody had a great holiday weekend.

I'm kicking this week off with a trend/movement that I'm excited to see in 2024. But before I dive in, head over to thecoreloop's Web3 REAL-TIME news channel for actionable alpha (here).

So the movement I'm referring to is the Xbox mobile app store. Now that Microsoft successfully acquired Activision Blizzard (and King), its game catalog as well as mobile know-how has drastically improved.

The are definitely some regulatory tailwind such as the DMA in Europe and the recent Epic v Google ruling. But these types of changes work slowly through the system. But nonetheless these legal landmarks have created a gap of opportunity to take on the mobile store duopoly.

Xbox isn't with out its own strengths. Microsoft operates multiple digital store fronts so there's definitely high brand equity recognizability for the consumer. Moreover, these users are already opted into Microsoft's payment rails and payment systems. Combining these inherent strengths with the mobile gaming catalog and the reach of King's Candy Crush, Xbox mobile store is poised to make a valiant attempt at the throne.

More than two decades ago, Microsoft created the Xbox, which rose to being one of the top 3 console contenders today. I wouldn't bet against Microsoft.

Hope everyone has a great kickoff to their week!


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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Will an Xbox app store break Apple and Google’s duopoly this year? Let’s hope so | Mobilegamer.biz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Will an Xbox app store break Apple and Google’s duopoly this year? Let’s hope so | Mobilegamer.biz

data.ai: Mobile Gaming Market in 2023 (State of Mobile 2024) | GameDev Reports

Gaming Industry Report - Q4 2023 | Konvoy Ventures


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Elena Grigorian on My.Games: Strengths, Challenges, and Future | Deconstructor of Fun

Death, and rebirth, of virtual reality | SuperJoost Playlist

The Unity We Asked For | SystemTalk


🌈 Platforms 🏠
The new Ubisoft+ and getting gamers comfortable with not owning their games | GamesIndustry.biz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
GameStop's crypto plans collapse as retailer prepares to shut NFT marketplace | GameDeveloper

Assassin's Creed Maker Ubisoft Backs Yet Another Crypto Gaming Network | Decrypt.gg

Nike Will 'Go Way Deeper' Into Video Game Fashion Amid NFT Push | Decrypt.gg

Game Over: More Than 30% of Crypto Games Have Been Discontinued | Decrypt.gg

Solana Game 'Nyan Heroes' Hits Epic Store Ahead of Airdrop | Decrypt.gg


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Scopely finally brings Stumble Guys to console with Xbox launch | GamesBeat

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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #354 | 1.18.2024

GM! The biggest news has to be that Apple is legally forced to allow third-party off-platform payment options.

The final shots in this legal battle was fired by the Supreme Court when they denied Apple's and Epic's appeal. Apple must now allow developers to offer different payment solutions for in-game purchases.

But of course Apple wasn't going to roll over. The tech giant reacted by implementing a new 27% fee that'll be charged on external platform payments with a large full-screen-size pop-up that warns users that they're going to be using an authorized payment option. Then the hero we don't deserve, Tim Sweeney took to Twitter to call out Apple on these new practices. The friction to purchase off-platform is immense.

Unfortunately with the 27% Apple tax plus the third-party payment processor's fee of 3 to 6%, game studios and publishers may be paying more than they would've with Apple's 30% fee. So spicy. Full-frontal all-out business warfare.

In other news, I want to highlight this AMAZING report that our good friend Jon Huang from Bitkraft authored. The piece discusses the growth and innovation of Asia's gaming industry, particularly why this region will be the dominant area to pay attention to. It also mentions that Asia accounted for a significant portion of global gaming venture capital deals in the first half of 2023. The East also accounts for 46% of global gaming revenues in 2022 and home to 2.4 billion gamers.

However, investing in Asia's gaming industry requires a deep understanding of the local context, diverse user base, and interconnected ecosystem. Therefore Bitkraft's Asia investment thesis is upheld by these four key pillars.

The four key pillars are:
1. Mobile-Native Cross Platform Games
2. Focusing on Core Genres
3. Asia as a Bastion of Web3 Gaming Innovation
4. Platforms, Infrastructure, and Applied Game Mechanics

Enjoy some good reading this weekend!

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Despite new regulations Apple will still be able to charge 27% on external platform payments | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Niko Partners 2024 Predictions | Niko Partners

Despite new regulations Apple will still be able to charge 27% on external platform payments | PGBiz

Supreme Court rejects Epic vs Apple appeals | GamesIndustry.biz

Tencent slashed investments in 2023 | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The Silk Road of Asia Gaming | Bitkraft

MarketWire | Let me be clear: Monopoly Go is "successful" | GameMakers

Is the latest game subscription 'moral panic' justified? | GameDiscoverCo

Apple to Developers: Heads I win, tails you lose (part 2) | MobileDevMemo

Cookie deprecation in Chrome: who is impacted? | MobileDevMemo


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Build a Rocket Boy raises $110M to launch Everywhere and UGC tools | GamesBeat

On Off Games lands $1.5M investment from Mobavenue in Singapore | PGBiz

Pine Games secures $2.25M for mobile game development in Istanbul | PGBiz

3thix raises $8.5M to monetize Web3 games | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Eddy Gordo Is Tekken 8’s First DLC Fighter, Opening Cinematic Released | GameInformer


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Drop a gg!

🔔 Weekly Gaming Digest 👀

In The Loop w/ kapital_k (Week 0️⃣3️⃣ of 2024)

Here are the top five headlines and fundraising announcements plus a collection of content from independent creators that you missed this week!

———

TOP 5 HEADLINES 📣

📌 Apple Still Charging 27% Fee Despite New Regs

📌 Can Xbox Be A Candidate To Disrupt App Store Duopoly of Google & Apple

📌 Justin Kan's Stash, a New Alternative Web Shops

📌 Microsoft Extending Exclusive Titles To Playstation & Nintendo

📌 Palworlds, imagine Pokemon with guns, sold 1M copies in 8 hours

———

thecoreloop FEATURED PICKS 💖:

🗣 Blogs
• Bitkraft // The Silk Road of Asia Gaming — link —> Shoutout to our friend Jon Huang on this FRESH and INSIGHTFUL piece.

➡Pods
• two & a half gamers // Dissecting Apple's 27% Fee — link


💲 Raises
• $129M raised this week. The two that stood out are Build a Rocket Boy which raised $110M and 3Thix, a new web3 monetization platform.

———

Check out our Substack for the full newsletter!

Look at Gaming #355 | 1.22.2024

GM! Welcome back to another week. Hope everyone had a great weekend and squeezed in some game time.

Palworld took over the gaming world. If you haven't been paying attention, Palworld is a monster-catcher game that could be summed up with this phrase: "Imagine Pokemon with guns".

Pocket Pair Inc, is the name of the studio behind this ingenious creation of smashing together some nostalgia and violence (haha). This game reminded me of that live-action Power Ranger movie where it was dark and gritty. Granted it wasn't the best depiction but it gave me the same vibes.

What Palworld got correct is that balance between "narrative" and genre. Obviously, it isn't blatantly claiming that its a Pokemon game but every single player (myself included) have made hundreds of Pokemon-related references while playing the game. This is awesome for Pocket Pair. They didn't need to claim it, they just let the players get there on their own.

The second bit is how the team nailed the genre. There's always a spectrum of players when it comes to survival games, some wants to rage war against all, others just want to be crafting maxis, and some are nomads just drifting along. Palworld provided a bit for everyone without diluting the potent Fun, with a capital F.

You can rage war with a crafted flameflower from your fire-breathing Pal, while exploring all the different landscapes.

This may spark a trend of taking IP and flipping it 180 in terms of gameplay/genre.

I aggregated a list of threads written by folks in web3 on Palworld. I suspected that it was going to be a trend. Initially, it was just Jon Lai (a16z) and Jon Huang (bitkraft) who tweeted about it but now we're up to 9 threadooors.

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. Chat soon.

Drop a gg!

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Palworld takes over the gaming world | @0xkapital_k (thecoreloop)


🌊 MARKET 📞
The State of Gaming VC in 2024 | Naavik

The future of gaming is device-agnostic; it’s time for marketers to adapt | GameDeveloper


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Gaming, Esports, & Social Trends Report | 2024 | StreamHatchet


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Deep Dive into Tilt Blockchain | @0xConglomerate (thecoreloop)


Web3 Games Shouldn't Focus on Earning Through Token Farming | @0xDan1el (supervlabs)

Palworld takes over the gaming world | @0xkapital_k (thecoreloop)


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Apple Vision Pro Preorders Begin Friday—What You Need to Know | Decrypt.gg

Palworld has one of the highest concurrent player count ever on Steam | Palworld

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Bye

Look at Gaming #356 | 1.23.2024

GM! I'm stoked to finally share Part 0 of my MapleStory teardown.

When MapleStory announced it was going into Web3, I was excited but not bullish. It was more like a "oh that's cool, something I played in my childhood is running it back."

And then I ended up spending 4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ hours playing the game. Now, I'm so bullish.

20 years of content. Hard-won experience in balancing game mechanics and economies. A world-renowned IP. A veteran team of builders, designers, and analysts. The studio risking its flagship IP on web3, unlike others.

Betting against this proj.? Can't be me.

This is going to be the first part to a much deeper analysis of the game's mechanics and how it could be enhanced (or even revolutionized) with Web3. Hope you enjoy!

Other headlines that caught my eyes were Crunchyroll releasing new games for its platform and Paris Hilton launching a hotel in Roblox — do kids even know who Paris HIlton is?

That's it for today folks!

Chat soon.


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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Why I'm so bullish on MapleStory on Web3 | @0xkapital_k (thecoreloop)


🌊 MARKET 📞
Palworld Live-Streaming: A Surprising Success Story | Stream Hatchet

Games industry leaders braced 'for up to two years of pain' | GamesIndustry.biz

Riot lays off 530 staff, Riot Forge shutting down | GamesIndustry.biz

Newzoo: Forecasts and Gaming Trends for 2024 | GameDev Reports

Chip industry could grow 13% in 2024 | Deloitte

China quietly pulls draft gaming rules from website | TechCrunch


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
How this solo-dev 'incremental' game hit 100k+ sales! | GameDiscoverCo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Crunchyroll announces two exclusive new games for its Game Vault | GamesBeat

Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media launches Hilton partnership on Roblox | GamesBeat


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Why I'm so bullish on MapleStory on Web3 | @0xkapital_k (thecoreloop)

Unstoppable Domains and The Sandbox create Unstoppable metaverse experience | GamesBeat

Darewise teams with Honda on Web3 vehicular gameplay | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
6 x Operative Changes That Kept SciPlay Growing Despite the Market Headwinds | Deconstructor of Fun


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Obelisk Studio raises $2m from The Games Fund | GamesIndustry.biz

Paper Ventures launches $25M blockchain VC fund | GamesBeat

Rize.gg wraps up pre-seed round, raises $430,000 to train and empower gamers | PGBiz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Disney offers an elegant solution to VR’s movement problem | TechCrunch

CD Projekt aiming to begin Witcher 4 production by mid-2024 | GameDeveloper

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Drop a gg

Look at Gaming #357 | 1.24.2024

GM! Today I want to talk about UGC.

When folks mention UGC, they really mean sandbox-y games like Roblox and Minecraft, more specifically about individual user-created "experiences."

For me, I think the real UGC is actually in the asset stores. (think Unity Asset Store, Roblox Creator Store). These are the building blocks for all the user-created experiences. Without a marketplace to purchase models, plugins, meshes, images, fonts, 2D & 3D graphical, audio, and video assets, the UGC creation process would be drastically more challenging.

Roblox recently updated their Creator Store to provide for a much better UGC experience. Safety is the top priority of course and it was reported that 47 million malicious and copied assets were removed from the store in 2022 and implemented a monthly submission limit, reducing spam by 90%.

Imagine that. 47 million things to sort through. Therefore discovery is a integral part of these creator stores and Roblox improved in that aspect as well. Having proper indexing, categorizing, subcategorizing, ratings, reviews and implementing images, links, rich media into the item descriptions are integral features for any store.

Lastly is pricing. Previously, these assets were priced in Robux, now they're in US dollars, while also eliminating DevEx fees. Developer now keep 100% of the proceeds minus tax and payment processing fee.

I believe solving THIS layer of the UGC stack is a precursor to having full-blown UGCfication on any platform. With all the sandbox-y game in web3, you should ask them what their plans are for this. It's effectively the middleware/asset wholesale marketplace.

That's it for today! Catch y'all tomorrow.

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Roblox opens new Creator Store to speed game creation | GamesBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
The Tremendous Yet Troubled State of Gaming in 2024 | MatthewBall.co

An arms race for games industry tax breaks | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Apple’s problematic 7-day app-to-web attribution window | MobileDevMemo

Subscriptions, live service games will slow down in 2024 | Newzoo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Roblox opens new Creator Store to speed game creation | GamesBeat

Lego Fortnite’s first big update squashes bugs and adds a launch pad | TechCrunch

Nintendo goes after the Palworld Pokémon modder | The Verge


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Treeverse' Studio Endless Clouds Picks Immutable zkEVM for Its NFT Games | Decrypt.gg

Crypto Casino Rollbit Sponsors FaZe Clan in Multi-Million-Dollar Esports Deal | Decrypt.gg

Immutable’s Web3 Roadmap for 2024 | Naavik


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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #358 | 1.25.2024

GM! This one gonna be a bit gloomy so diving right into it.

In the midst of the excitement surrounding Palworld, the game world isn't doing as great. GamesIndustry.biz spoke with public company executives, publishing heads, and big investors. Their comments were alarming. Some forecasting two more years of turmoil.

The TLDR
• Games industry caught in a hard spot cuz of high interest rate (duh, like everyone else).
• But the unique thing is that the games industry expanded aggressively during 2020/2021, greenlit too many games and hired too many personnel now the contraction has to happen
• The compounding of the high interest plus the natural contraction made things worst
• 2023 was year of layoffs, 2024 year of closures
• Game release schedules need to reset to pre-pandemic norm trends cuz too much gamestore saturation right now
• From outsiders perspective and zooming out, things are trending up but industry insiders know the current landscape is tough and rough

I want to remind folks that great companies today were built during period of turbulence and high interest rates. (See Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet)

In related news, 35% of developers said they were affected by layoffs reported in a GDC survey.

Sorry for the doom and gloom but just sharing where we are in the industry! Darkest before dawn right? RIGHT?!

Chat soon.

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Games industry leaders braced 'for up to two years of pain' | GamesIndustry.biz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Games industry leaders braced 'for up to two years of pain' | GamesIndustry.biz

Not everyone bows to the inevitability of subscription models | GamesIndustry.biz

35% of devs affected by layoffs last year, says GDC survey | GamesIndustry.biz

Larian will keep Baldur's Gate 3 and other games off subscription services | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
What Palworld's success tells us about 2024's game biz | GameDiscoverCo

Tips on Ad Monetization & Creative Inspirations | Brutally Honest


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Streamers who rely on Twitch Prime Gaming subs are getting a slight pay cut | The Verge


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Immutable teams with Axelar for Web3 interoperability with 56 blockchains | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Difficulty curves: how to get the right balance | GameDeveloper


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Drop a gg!

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Jan 18 to Jan 24

🔄 Gaming Updates
• Fusionist — Released ACE Arena (Web-based pixel-style MOBA)
• WorldShards — Moving towards Early Access
• Paragonds DAO — Released 2023 Treasury Report
• Axie Infinity — Launched Homeland Beta
• Mahjong Meta — Token System Update
• Rumble Racing Star — Launched mobile release & $RRS Point Program (Exchangable for $DELABS in the future)
• Blast Royale — Q1 2024 Dev UpdateDevelopment
• DeLabs — Playtest for Pass Holders
• Pixelmon — Launched MON Protocol, future of IP Governance
• Nifty Island — Launched Open Beta (Ongoing Points Program)
• Engines of Fury — Token in 2024
• Moonfrost — Dev Update & LiveStream (Jan 25)
• Bladerite — Live on mobile & PC
• MixMob — Snapshot soon prior to TGE
• Mavia — Global mobile launch on Jan 31
• BLOCKLORDS — Released info on upcoming GameDrop
• Footium — Transtitioning to Arbitrum
• Endless Couds — Partnering up with IMX

🔖 Gaming Reads
• AI Arena — $NRN P2A event details
• Matthew Ball — The Tremendous yet Troubled State of Gaming in 2024
• Daniel (Supervillian Labs) — Web3 Games Shouldn't Focus on Earning Through Token Farming
• Conglomerate (TheCoreLoop) — Deep Dive into Tilt Blockchain
• Jonathan Huang (Bitkraft) — Reflections on game design, target market & VC-funding for games based on Palworld's Success
• Aiko (Folius Ventures) — How a small team managed to create a blockbuster game in Palworld
• Jihoz (Axie Infinity) — Learnings from Pixels Online
• RealJonahBlake (RealThirdWeb) — Why Palworld is popular & what Web3 can learn from it (marketing-wise)
• Sparkc (Wolves DAO) — How Web3 Games can learn from Palworld's Success
• JACL (Delphi) — How Palworld gained attention but not thru game design
• TIN (Sipher) — What we can learn from Palworld
• Karel Vuong (TreasureDAO) — Builders Dilemma

▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens
• Smolverse for Beginners
• Gamecraft — State of Play: 2024

💸 Gaming Fundraising
• Beacon — Secured Arbitrum Grant

hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

🔔 Weekly Gaming Digest 👀

In The Loop w/ kapital_k (Week 0️⃣4️⃣ of 2024)

Here are the top five headlines and fundraising announcements plus a collection of content from independent creators that you missed this week!

———

TOP 5 HEADLINES 📣

📌 Roblox Opens New Creator Store

📌 Fortnite LEGO Big Update

📌 Two Years of Pain For Games

📌 CrunchyRoll Launches 2 Exclusive Games

📌 Deloitte Says Chip Industry +13% 2024

———

thecoreloop FEATURED PICKS 💖:

🗣 Blogs
• @0xkapital_k (thecoreloop) // Why I'm So Bullish MapleStory Web3 — link

➡Pods
• MobileDevMemo // Optimizing Ad Spend Against LTV — link


💲 Raises
• $27.4M raised this week. A new $25M web3 fund accounted for most of it.

———

Check out our Substack for the full newsletter!

Look at Gaming #359 | 1.29.2024

GM! Welcome the last week in January — can't believe 2024 is just speeding by.

Apple is going to be comply to the EU laws, while still raking in the dough. But first some details.

From iOS 17.4 onward, iPhone users could download new app stores. Now this first application would be subjected to Apple's thorough inspection but any other apps the user downloads from this new app store onward is "buyer beware" situation.

There are requirements though that every app needs to maintain the same version across all app stores. Outside of this version control, the apps on these new app stores do not have to abide by the existing App Store Guidelines.

The money:
• 17% commission is still paid to Apple just to exist on Apple —> This falls to 10% if the dev qualifies for a small business rate
• 3% payment processing fee (if they choose to go with Apple's payment processing)
• 0.50 Euro per annual app install once an app passes 1 million installs (if the use reinstalls, that's 0.50 Euro again)

Apple didn't become the most highly-valued company in the world by letting the world push it around. These countermeasures were crafted the moment Apple got into these legal entanglements.

There's a ton of content today so please take a look through the headlines!

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Apple's Core Technology Fee explained - Who'll be paying what (and is this even legal?) | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Between the Lines: Eastern Europe’s Gaming Market | Naavik

2024 is already halfway to matching 2023’s layoff numbers | GamesBeat

Krafton’s 2024 expansion plan includes AI, India and 20 games | GamesBeat

Apple to the EU: Catch me if you can | PGBiz

Microsoft Cuts 1,900 Xbox and Activision Staff Amid Gaming Industry Crisis | Decrypt.gg

The Pokémon Company will "investigate" IP infringement after questions raised around Palworld | PGBiz

Intel posts Q4 revenue of $15.4B, up 10% but Q1 expectations weak | GamesBeat

Epic Games CEO blasts Apple for ‘malicious compliance’ with EU Digital Markets Act | GamesBeat


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Ampere Analysis: Epic Games became the leader in MAU on consoles in December | GameDev Reports

Betting on Yourself | Konvoy Venture

Plus: why data can't predict success for PC/console games | GameDiscoverCo

Apple's Core Technology Fee explained - Who'll be paying what (and is this even legal?) | PGBiz

Apple to Developers: Heads I win, tails you lose (part 3) | MobileDevMemo

The Profitability Race is on! | Games and Game Industry

Palworld, the equal-opportunity offender | SuperJoost Playlist

The myth of overnight success | Game Stuff

Take Your Mobile Marketing to the Next Level With Liftoff’s 2023 Reports and Guides | GameRefinery


🌈 Platforms 🏠
It's not just App Stores… Apple make big changes for cloud gaming and webkit too | PGBiz

Xbox announces Indie Selects program | GamesIndustry.biz


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
The complete collection of GamesIndustry.biz's Get into Games guides | GamesIndustry.biz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
True Gamers secures $45m investment for esports expansion in Saudi Arabia | PGBiz

AOFverse raises $3 million to propel Web3 gaming vision | PGBiz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Palworld' Roadmap Revealed—Huge Upgrades Are Coming | Decrypt.gg

Switch 2: all the news and rumors on Nintendo’s next console | The Verge

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👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Jan 29 to Jan 30

🔄 Gaming Updates
• Immutable X — Announced early access for Immutable zkEVM
• Battle Bears — Preparing for global launch soon (Soft Launch in SEA/LATAM)
• Decentral Games — Pocket Casino soon
• Army of Fortune Metaverse — $AFG Listing on Jan 30
• Tribo Games — Teasing the release of a new hero for their upcoming game, Rumble Arcade
• Delphi Ventures — Announced their investment into ggdotzip, an on-chain real-time scavenger hunt game that merges AR with social-Fi
• Hologram Labs — Launched the beta for Holoworld AI, a Web3 AI + 3D entertainment social network
• Sipher — Achieved their first milestone of 20,000 Pre-Registrations
• Fractional Uprising Studios — Announced that their battle royale game OpenSeason is coming soon on the Epic Games Store
• ARBO — Released game dev BTS for ARBO: Arena Tactics
• Big Time — Released Patch 0.29
• Mavia — Announced that the Pioneer Airdrop Program will be turbo-charged with iOS/Android user downloads starting Jan 31 becoming eligible for the upcoming airdrop
• Shrapnel — Releasing STX1 Event on Feb 8 -10
• SoRare — Updated their gameplay with higher point caps, better rewards and will introduce various competition adjustments starting game week 29
• Champions Tactics — Released update on current status as part of Ubisoft, their upcoming plans for Warlords holders, and the completion of their Alpha milestone

🔖 Gaming Reads
• lordOfAFew (Loot Realms) — The Rise of Micro Studios
• Eliza (GAM3S.GG) — Mobile Games Dominate Korean Market
• Blade Research — Need for Compute: Building Provable Game with ZKWASM
• GiulioX (Pixelmon) — Founders Exit Last
• Ryan Wyatt (Optimism) — Proposal for Treasure DAO to move to Superchain
• Eliza (GAM3S.GG) — State of Mobile Gaming 2024

💸 Gaming Fundraising
• AOFVerse — Raises $3m to propel Web3 Gaming Vision

hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

Look at Gaming #360 | 1.30.2024

GM! Not many good headlines today so no spotlight. Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

The PlayStation State of Play could be interesting as this is the first one after the Microsoft x Activision acquisition.

We also know that Xbox said they were thinking of releasing Xbox-exclusive titles onto other consoles so it would be interesting to see how these offerings (if it goes through) would impact Sony's PlayStation exclusive games.

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💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Which Steam games 'won' revenue again in 2023? | GameDiscoverCo

PlayStation sales in Japan in 2023 are the best in 14 years | GameDev Reports


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Sony’s next PlayStation State of Play streams this week | The Verge


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Xsolla founder unveils metaverse vision in Once Upon Tomorrow book | GamesBeat

Immutable launches Immutable zkEVM mainnet for blockchain gaming | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Call of Duty discusses matchmaking process for multiplayer games | GamesBeat

Level Design Process #01: Cube to Temple | GameDeveloper

7 Ways to Drastically Improve Your LiveOps: Learning from Clockmaker | Deconstructor of Fun


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Carry1st receives investment from Sony | GamesIndustry.biz

Xreal raises $60M for consumer AR glasses | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Developers Klab and Pocket Pair team up for new title | PGBiz

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Look at Gaming #361 | 1.31.2024

GM! Happy hump day. I got a special one for you today.

I wrote a post about MapleStory, in which I analyzed the gameplay, core loop, and community.

Part 0 was about how bullish I am on MapleStory Universe but Part 1 (this post) is about the reasons behind my bullishness.

First, the gameplay.

MapleStory is a multifaceted experience that combines classic 2D side-scrolling action, extensive character customization, and vibrant community interaction, with chibi charming pixel art under a fantasy narrative.

Players choose a character class:
• Warrior ⚔️
• Magician 🧙‍♂️
• Bowman 🏹
• Pirate 🏴‍☠️
• Thief 🥷 (my fave)

MS is pretty classic as in it's a platformer where the d-pad controls direction, players jump from platform to platform while beating monsters. Tbh, it sounds quite vanilla but there's an art to the simplicity.

Next is the core loop.

The core loop here is rather simple. Defeat monsters, earn EXP, acquire gear, enhance your character, and repeat.

The magic, however, is when you combine the gameplay, the core loop, and the 20 years of content! Now the game is full of intricate systems that intertwine and add tremendous depth to the player's experience.

These experiences could be wildly enhanced by elements of Web3.

In my post, I wrote about how there are a plethora of idle assets in MapleStory that every player has. For example, most players have multiple characters under the same account. Each character is able to defeat bosses for mesos (the in-game currency) and resources.

But doing so takes time and is a chore. Here's the opportunity to inject some web3 mechanics.

What if there's a mesos-sharing agreement between two players. Player A can use my characters to do boss runs for me but in return I get 50% of the earnings. There are multiple instances where I go days or even a week without doing a boss run. Another player could've helped me at least earn 50% of my missed earnings.

This is but a very simple example of putting idle assets to work.

There's more in the article so please check out the post in the Spotlight section!

Chat soon.

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
MapleStory: Analysis of the Gameplay, Core Loop, and Community Layer | @0xkapital_k


🌊 MARKET 📞
Tencent CEO feels its game business "achieved nothing" during 2023 | GameDeveloper

Activision Blizzard added $2B in revenue to Xbox’s Q2 growth | GamesBeat

AMD Q4 revenues grow to $6.2B, but FY23 revenue down 4% | GamesBeat

Iconic streamer Pokimane is leaving Twitch | TechCrunch

China greenlights 115 games in January, largest batch in 18 months | PGBiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The Advertiser’s Dilemma with PMax and Advantage+ | MobileDevMemo

Gaming’s Generative AI opportunity (with Emmanuel de Maistre) | MobileDevMemo

Netflix, price discrimination, and the Goldilocks zone | MobileDevMemo


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
EA CEO shares his thoughts on a sports metaverse | GamesBeat

MapleStory: Analysis of the Gameplay, Core Loop, and Community Layer | @0xkapital_k


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Ex-Mojang and Toca Boca devs raise €1.5m for new studio Roro | PGBiz

Order of Meta raises $3.3M to launch mobile-first extraction shooter | GamesBeat

8SEC secures €1.5 Million investment from Kwalee | PGBiz

Loric Games raises $4m in funding round | GamesIndustry.biz

PlayGreen raises $6M for sports betting in Latin America | GamesBeat

Semron raises $7.9M for AI chips with 3D packaging | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Genshin Impact sets new record for fastest mobile game to $5B | GamesBeat

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Look at Gaming #362 | 2.01.2024

GM! Let's talk about China today.

I've always been curious about how games are discovered in China. Turns out the main source of traffic are Bilibili and Douyin which are basically YouTube and TikTok.

Content creators are a key driving force behind game discovery. The format of the content ranges from short clips of gameplay to comprehensive game walk-throughs.

This sounds obvious but when compared to western games which are much more heavily driven by programmatic UA, the Chinese content creator UA channel is notable.

The marketing dynamic further emphasizes the importance of working with a local publisher that understands the cultural nuances and content preferences of the Chinese gamers.

In other news, we have Xbox pulling $7B in revenue for Microsoft, Sega America laying off employees, and Stream Element sharing insights from 2023.

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
PC game discovery in China: how does it work? | GameDiscoverCo


🌊 MARKET 📞
2024's games industry lay-offs: The stories so far - all in one place | PGBiz

Sega of America is laying off 61 workers based in Irvine | GameDeveloper

Microsoft delivers over $7B in gaming revenue during Q2, barely mentions almost 2,000 layoffs | GameDeveloper


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
PC game discovery in China: how does it work? | GameDiscoverCo

StreamElements & Rainmaker.gg - State of the Game Streaming Market in December 2023 | GameDev Reports


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Ethereum Gaming Token Ronin Price Spikes to Two-Year High After $246K ‘Axie Infinity’ NFT Sale | Decrypt.gg

Marblex Gaming Network From Mobile Giant Netmarble Teams With Saga | Decrypt.gg


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Mountaintop raises another $30 million | GamesIndustry.biz

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Look at Gaming #363 | 2.02.2024

GM! Happy Friday! Hope y'all have a great weekend.

I got a question for you my dear readers: what was the last product that Apple released that wasn't a banger?

I can't seem to come up with one contemporary example. If there were failures, then it was drowned out by the outstanding success of their other products.

And I think the Apple Vision Pro may actually live up to our imaginations.

There are 600 applications designed specifically for the Apple Vision Pro. Some of these products are reskin of their mobile/desktop version but some leans heavily into the unique features of this new device.

One product that stood out to me immediately was the Lovense device. If you are bullish the metaverse, you need to pay attention to applications and devices that feeds into these humanly desires — and needs.

My previous boss (who founded and invested in billion dollar+ companies) taught me that any product needs to serve at least one of these primal instincts:
• Fear — Help alleviate the user's fear.
• Pride — Make the user feel proud.
• Time — Help the user save time.
• Love — Help the user find love/feel loved.
• Money — Help the user make money

Good products cover one of these needs well, great products have three (or more). Lovense taps into Fear, Pride, Time, Love, and Money. I'll leave it up to your imagination about how.

In other news, VR is hard and we see that with Meta spending nearly $5B in Q4 2023 so here's my attempt to steel man my own thinking. If one of the most successful company in the world is consistently putting up Ls in this vertical, maybe it is harder than just a few good apps.

BUT I haven't ordered an Apple Vision Pro yet. Let me know if you would ape into my NFT collection for me to fund this purchase.

Have a great weekend!

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Lovense unveils long-distance sex toy for Apple Vision Pro | GamesBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
Konami raises forecasts as profits rise 53% to $427m | GamesIndustry.biz

Xsolla issues State of Play report winter 2024 edition | GamesBeat

Meta Reality Labs loses $4.65B in Q4 | GamesBeat

Microsoft owes everyone more context for mass Xbox layoffs | GameDeveloper


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Apple’s passive aggression | SuperJoost Playlist

Meta Q4 2023 earnings: average revenue per impression flips to positive | MobileDevMemo

AppsFlyer: Benchmark on Game uninstalls on Android in October-November 2023 | GameDev Reports


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
‘Overwatch’ Esports League Bans Crypto, NFT, and AI Sponsors | Decrypt.gg


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Transitioning from PC-only development to multiple platforms | GameDeveloper


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Eggscape Entertainment raises $4.25M for social gaming on mixed reality headsets | GamesBeat

Pixelmon raises $8M as it seeks redemption for its ambitious Web3 games | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Lovense unveils long-distance sex toy for Apple Vision Pro | GamesBeat

J. Crew, Mytheresa and e.l.f. brands launch Apple Vision Pro apps | GamesBeat

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Drop a gg!

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Jan 31 to Feb 2

🔄 Gaming Updates
• Delabs Games — Disbands Rumble Racing Stars Team
• Mixmob — Launches $MXM token & staking
• Axie Infinity — Opens Community Onboarding Form
• Hychain — Details for Node Key WL Sale
• MON Protocol — Launches mission platform, points redeemable for $MON
• Serum City — Released Web3 City Builder game
• MATR1X Fire — $FIRE Withdrawals & Locked $FIRE Release: Feb 7)
• AOFVerse — Public Statement on Token Launch & Airdrop Plans
• Rumble Arcade — Shadowstrike playable from Feb 5
• CyberTitans — Releases 3rd Mobile Closed Alpha
• WorldShards — Showcases sandbox MMORPG Trailer
• Metalcore — Building on Immutable zkEVM
• Yuga Labs — Announced Kodas game for H2 2024
• The Sprawl — Releasing 3.4k Genesis Vehicles
• Battlebound — Highlighting Project A direction
• OhBabyGames — Guilds coming in Closed Beta 2
• Marblex — Partnered with Saga to launch games

🔖 Gaming Reads
• 0xkapital_k — MapleStory: Analysis of the gameplay, core loop & community layer
• Jon Jordan — Why $MAVIA token launch (Feb 6) will be a health check for Web3 Gaming Sentiment
• John Patten — Why Treasure Chain is next steps towards MAGIC becoming a universal metaverse money
• Andrew Chen — Why Tutorials, Splash Screens & Lengthy Signup Flows are a bad idea
• Sparkc — The Tatsumeeko Thesis
• Andrew Chen — Incentives are a form of selection & need to make sure you know what you’re selecting for
• Aiko — Analysis of MyShell Badge System
• Kix.eth — Why we built Midnight Heist as a fully on-chain game
• JACL — Fight for Player Liquidity
• Will Price — TLDR of GG.zip
• Sparkc — Why people are upset at AOFVerse

▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens
• All Chat: Episode 4 — Games on Emerging Platforms (Covers Apple Vision Pro)
• a16z Games — What can we learn from success of Palworld?
• Gamecraft — Choose Your (ad)Venture: Nuances of Game Financing
• Blockchain Gaming World — Bottom up rise of Pixels

💸 Gaming Fundraising
• Pixelmon — Announced $8m seed round

hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Feb 5

💎 Spotlight 🥜
• Tatsumeeko unveils its teaser for their upcoming web event this February titled, Uncharted Dreams — See More

🔄 Gaming Updates
• OhBabyGames — Closed Beta 2 on Feb 7
• Aurory — Announced their upcoming patch for Seekers of Tokane, Bloodstone
• The Mystery Society — Launched Playtest Week 2
• Raini Studios — Released their February Ecosystem Update
• Guild of Guardians — Released another wave of Pre-Registration (w/ Sign-up Bonus: 10 summoning stones) for their upcoming global launch
• Paradise Tycoon — Joining the Seedify Incubation Program
• Aavegotchi — Released access for Strategotchi (grid-based game)
• Root Network — Gearing up for open beta (Network fees reduced by 67%)
• Hychain — Node Key Sale date details will be announced in 2 weeks (Late Feb - Early March)
• AOFVerse — Announced token snapshot and distribution details to Fortune NFT Key holders
• Heroes of Mavia — Reached 1M global downloads on iOS and Android (~3.5 days since launching)

🔖 Gaming Reads
• Bankless — The Bull Thesis for Starknet Gaming
• Luke Barwikowski (Pixels Online) — Why Pixels is one of the largest Web3 games by DAU
• Jonah Blake (RE3W) — The one thing holding back Web3 Gaming is the Sim Investor Problem
• Hunter Solaire — The Gaming Meta

▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens
• Naavik — The State of UGC Gaming in 2024 (Covers trends in Roblox, UEFN, etc)

hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3