👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — March 8 to 10

💎 Gaming Spotlight 🥜
• Sipher launches Open Alpha starting with US, Brazil, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Argentina, Venezuela, & India. Progress, achievements & earned items will carry over to global launch — See More

🔄 Gaming Updates
• Spellborne — Released Feb Developer Update
• Axie Infinity — Classic guilds are now live
• Guild of Guardians — NFT Migration to Immutable zkEVM
• Shrapnel — Token Unlock Schedule Revision (April 2024 unlock reduced by 75%)
• Mystery Society — Released new playtest
• Illuvium — Released Feb 2024 Governance Newsletter
• Everseed — Launched Season 2
• Kuroro Beasts — $KURO airdrop extended (7% of supply to be distributed)
• Soba — Launched Open Beta
• SkyArk Chronicles — Opened staking
• Crypto Unicorns — 3.1.2 Tuning Update
• Pegaxy — Released Pre-registration (March 8 - 22)
• ZTX — Genesis Home NFTs are now integrated into ZTX Beta
• Decentral Games — Blast Deposits are now LIVE
• Parallel — Closed Beta S7 Card / Cosmetic Claims are extended
• Planet Mojo — Announced Gogo Mojo, a new interoperable
• Block Games — Integrating Ronin into their player network ecosystem
• Holdara — Released new Dev Blog
• Bitcraft — Released gameplay reveal trailer & alpha sign-up form (Alpha starts April 2)
• Worldwide Webb — Revealed 2024 Roadmap
• XTREMEVERSE — DN404 Anime Gaming NFT Collection Minted out
• Aavegotchi — Gotchiverse Roadmap

🔖 Gaming Reads
• Sparkcsays (Wolves DAO) — How to Not Fuck Up in Web 3: From Traditional Gaming to Crypto
• John Patten (Treasure DAO) — Why blockchain games are able to blow up
• Jonah Blake (Real Third Web) — Crypto gaming on mobile will take over
• Vader Research — Pixelmon Analysis

▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens
• Animoca Brands — How Imaginary Ones is Creating Global IP Through Web3
• All Chat — Spatial Computing Today (How it compares to Meta, experience developing for iOS & challenges of investing in the space)

🆕 Gaming Projects
• Rebel Cars
• Play AI

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

Look at Gaming #376 | 4.03.2024

GM everyone! I am BACK from leave. Yours truly is a new father so thank you for your patience! Let's get back in it.

Today's headline that caught my attention is about Discord's new questing platform. This is notable because there are numerous web3 projects that are basically glorified questing platforms so Discord's new product feature is highly competitive.

This particular Discord quest involves The Finals, which is a F2P FPS game. The users have to stream themselves playing the game to friends in their Discord server for 15 mins.

Players are rewarded with the Skill Issue set, includes virtual rewards such as a Beanie with Headphones, Skill Issue Sneakers, Skill Issue Blackout Tattoo, Skill Issue Slacks, Skill Issue Tank, and Attention Grabbers Sticker.

This initiative is part of a collaboration with Embark Studios to celebrate the latest updates to The Finals, including new modes, maps, abilities, weapons, and gadgets.

Using quests to activate or push live ops and rewarding users with cosmetics is good but these are just surface level interactions with the questing platform. I envision Discord quests growing into a massive second-screen experience for these game studios.

Mini games or lite-versions of the game could be played on Discord as part of their questing campaign and it may start as a campaign then scale into a permanent fixture in the game design.

There's ONE web3 game/infra project that's tackling User Acquisition/Activation this way. Drop a gg in the comments and I'll share it.

Catch y'all tomorrow!

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Discord users can get Skill Issue in The Finals game by completing a quest | GamesBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
FTC denies facial age estimation as verification tactic | GamesIndustry.biz

PC and console market grew 2.6% in 2023, but playtime hours fell | Newzoo

Embracer CEO says restructuring is over, no other studios for sale | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Supercell explains Brawl Stars’ big comeback, from an all-time low to 8.8x revenue | MobileGamer.biz

Supermarket Simulator: Best Streaming Debut of All Simulator Games | Stream Hatchet

The meaning of the massive success of Scopely’s Monopoly Go | GamesBeat

32% of mobile gamers plan to spend less on in-app purchases in 2024 | Mistplay


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Discord users can get Skill Issue in The Finals game by completing a quest | GamesBeat

Gaming social platform Discord set to embrace ads for revenue boost | PGBiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Azuki Chooses Arbitrum for Anime-Focused Project AnimeChain | Decrypt.gg


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Playable ads make the biggest splash in gaming apps | Liftoff

The Backend Jungle: A Short Guide for Game Executives | Deconstructor of Fun


💲 Fundraising 🤑
A16Z Games commits $75M to accelerator program for early game startups | GameDeveloper

Ludus Ventures invests $1M in Turkish studio Midas Games | PGBiz

BloodLoop Raises $4M to Fuel Blockchain Hero-Shooter | Gam3s.gg

XION Raises $25M Funding to Drive Web3 Mass Adoption | Gam3s.gg

Laton Ventures Launches $35M Global Gaming VC Fund | Gam3s.gg

Wargaming co-founder launches $50 million investment fund Mika Games to support mobile studios | PGBiz

Lil Snack raises $3.1M for snackable games built by devs with AI tools | GamesBeat

Helika Launches $50 Million Crypto Gaming Accelerator | Gam3s.gg

Shifty Eye Games raises $580K and appoints gaming luminaries as advisers | GamesBeat


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Drop a gg!

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — April 1 to 3

💎 Gaming Spotlight 🥜
• Parallel launched Open Beta Season 2 which includes patch update 0.28 featuring a new Battle Pass, brand new game mode and several additional bug fixes. — See More

🔄 Gaming Updates
• Crypto Unicorns — 7 step migration plan to XAI
• Mahjong Meta — Riot of Cherry Blossoms Event (April 1 - 28)
• Lumiterra — Genesis Mystery Box moved to OKX NFT Marketplace
• Palio — Launched Palio Odyssey, earned points swappable for Xterio Ecosystem Airdrop
• Guild of Guardians — Web3 Read Only Test Launch (April 3)
• Gomble Games — Airdrop Alliance Level 3 (April 2 - 25)
• Matr1x — $FIRE Unlock (April 7)
• HYCHAIN — Guardian Node Software v0.0.01 release
• Nyan Heroes — End of Airdrop & Pre-Alpha Demo (April 9)
• Balthazar DAO — $BZR Airdrop & Ordinal Migration
• Pegaxy — Blaze now available on iOS / Android
• METALCORE — Closed Beta 2 (April 9)
• Webaverse — Moemate Update
• My Pet Hooligan — Early Access Update
• Planet Mojo — Play To Airdrop (April 4 - 12)
• Saga — SSC Testnet V1 & Pegasus Testnet V1 Deprecated
• Thetan World — $THC to $THG Conversion
• MEGAWEAPON — Opening testing to general community
• Spellborne — Season 1 Build Complete

🔖 Gaming Reads
• Payton — Marketing & Distribution in Web3
• Madotsuki — The messy system of Pokemon bridging and crypto's potential in solving game interoperability & asset preservation

▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens
• Naavik — Guild of Guardians on Immutable + Web3 Pulsecheck

💸 Gaming Fundraising
• 7 Digital Labs — Raised $4m seed funding for Hero-Shooter game BloodLoop

🆕 Gaming Projects
• VectorShift
• First Light Games
• Ronin Launchpad
• Verse Foundation
• Pirate Battle
• OPEN
• Play AI

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

Look at Gaming #377 | 4.04.2024

GM!

NewZoo is a trusted data provider for the gaming space. The 2023 Global Gamer Study reported that out of the total online population, 72% of women play video games.

What's more jarring is that out of the population that says they play video games, nearly half (45%) were women, half of which are PAYING users.

Women are absolutely and unequivocally no longer a small "niche" in the gaming space. This is particularly important for mobile game studios because about 44% of female gamers play strictly on mobile.

But as expected female mobile players prefer casual titles. For the more core female gamers, we must look at the Console and PC platforms, where there seems to be an even split across the three categories of genres (casual, midcore, core).

This is fantastic news as the "gamer" demographic is expanding, which means brands are more willing to invest in products targeting gamers and marketeres are more likely to spend on gamer-focused ads.

In other news, check out Voldex purchasing another Roblox game in a multi-million dollar deal, a team of PhD from MIT created AI agent companions to play Minecraft with you, and a must-read interview with SuperJoost founder on data in the games industry.

Drop a gg fams! Miss ya!


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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
72% of women play video games with half of female players being payers | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Voldex snaps up Ultimate Football | GamesIndustry.biz

Lara Croft crowned the most iconic video game character of all time | BAFTA

Judge allows Roblox illegal gambling suit to proceed | The Verge

72% of women play video games with half of female players being payers | PGBiz

Meet the Team Bringing AI Agents to Minecraft | a16z Games


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Why older games rule - and new games drool - in Discoveryland | GameDiscoverCo

How data can help you understand the game industry | Joost Van Dreunen interview

The big economy of small advertisers | MobileDevMemo


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Coachella Launching Avalanche NFT Quests Game at Music Festival | Decrypt.co


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Godot vs. Unity: All You Need To Know | Kevuru Games


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Bitkraft Ventures unveils new $275m fund | GamesIndustry.biz

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Look at Gaming #379 | 4.09.2024

GM! I'm getting back into the swing of things and here's an original thread that I wrote about my experience playtesting MapleStory Universe.

The playtest was for friends and family only so it was a great pleasure for me to had been invited to participate.

I anticipated the game to be similar to its web2 counterpart but I was pleasant surprise when it wasn't just a reskin of the current MapleStory with NFTs.

My prediction is that MapleStory Universe will reignite the MMORPG genre. The reintroduction of social gameplay and integration of new game economics.

MapleStory Universe comprises of the content-rich world of MapleStory + Blockchain Technology + New Dynamic Pricing + New Item Distribution Mechanism.

I wrote in detail about the Dynamic Pricing and the Item Distribution Mechanism in my thread. I hope you enjoy and that you see why I'm so dam bullish on MSU.

Catch y'all tomorrow.

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Alpha from MapleStory Universe Friends & Family Playtest | thecoreloop


🌊 MARKET 📞
Disney Games expands leadership team to invest further in games | GamesBeat


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Disney Games expands leadership team to invest further in games | GamesBeat


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Xterio and AltLayer Collaborate to Launch Gaming-Oriented Blockchain | Gam3s.gg

Alpha from MapleStory Universe Friends & Family Playtest | thecoreloop


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
A decade in Tamriel: Takeaways as Elder Scrolls Online turns ten | GamesIndustry.biz

Breakdown of AFK Arena | Brutally Honest #107


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Look at Gaming #380 | 4.10.2024

GM! Happy hump day. Can't believe the week is already almost over!

This news came out yesterday but I didn't get the chance to cover it. Disney is expanding further into games and we should pay attention.

Recall that Disney already plowed $1.5B into Epic Games earlier this year to create a new universe of entertainment and fun. Historically, Disney has been quite removed from the game creation process — typically licensing their IP or "codeveloping" a game with large publishers (ex. EA & Star Wars).

Therefore this marked transition into gaming is notable. Now, even the leadership team internally at Disney is changing to reflect this new direction.

Disney recruited executives from storied studios like Blizzard Entertainment and Ubisoft as well as promoting talent from within.

These executives' efforts are spread across Disney's game portfolio from licensing to co-development. Disney game titles have received more than 1.5B global installs with 9 franchises hitting that $1B threshold.

Disney also has their own Disney+ streaming service to act as a distribution channel to reach users directly. Though Netflix has had mediocore success with their game rollout, the accessibility to user shouldn't be discounted. Disney has a similar potential.

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Disney Games expands leadership team to invest further in games | GamesBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
Embracer Sells Gearbox, Sega Sells Relic | Rock Paper Shotgun

Disney Games expands leadership team to invest further in games | GamesBeat


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Apple’s privacy “nuclear option” | MobileDevMemo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Fortnite Festival lets users play on virtual Coachella stages | GamesBeat


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Sui Gaming Handheld Targets Steam Deck, Runs PC and Crypto Games | Decrypt.gg

Hearthstone' and 'Parallel' Card Game Fans Have Beef—Here's Why | Decrypt.gg

Saga launches mainnet with more than 350 Web3 projects | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
The Ultimate Game Dev's Guide to Working with Content Creators | a16z Games


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Look at Gaming #381 | 4.11.2024

GM! I've been extolling about web shops for a hot minute now but Xsolla gave an informative and convincing presentation on how to get your users out of mobile "jail".

But first, what are web shops? These are alternative mobile stores where users could purchase in-game currencies and items — think IAP but done outside the app.

There are two types of web shops: Platforms vs. Boutiques. Platforms are a shared store experience, like a shopping mall with multiple brands. A boutique is a white-label, single-store rendition that's dedicated just to one game.

Web stores aren't just simply a place to sell in-game goods. It's a new wholly-owned direct-to-customer relationship that games never had before. This new relationship is worth up to 20% of additional revenue and comes with a 40-60% boost in conversion rate from login to purchase per Xsolla case studies.

The largest friction to web shop conversion is existing user payment behavior. So how do we overcome this?

"Whales don't want to save money," said Xsolla's Region Director Andrey Kalugin, who launched 150 web shops for hundreds of games.

Whales are the primary audience, but remember that they don't care for discounts. So the web shop needs to deliver value to the Whale user (eg. daily webshop check-ins for boosts, web shop-only items, etc.).

It is important to cement the first purchase behavior to be conducted on the web shop so optimize for that initial conversion. Then reward repeat purchases via web shop and as aforementioned induce more
repeat visits. For other players, use bundling/savings to attract them.

Lastly is to activate the community to drive referrals to the web shop (but NEVER use the words 'web shop', instead direct them to a FAQ, community page, leaderboard etc.)

If you’re launching a mobile game, do check out the video from PGbiz below.

ONE more day till Friday :)

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Xsolla’s Andrey Kalugin talks web shops tips to get users out of mobile "jail" | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Xsolla’s Andrey Kalugin talks web shops tips to get users out of mobile "jail" | PGBiz

62% of Gen Alpha gamers play 5+ hours per week, VS only 17% of Gen Z | PGBiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The New York Times, a Wordle company | SuperJoost

Indie showcase’s biggest stars are AAA game characters | Game File


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Apple News is testing a game that kind of looks like NYT Connections | TechCrunch

Microsoft is bringing its Xbox dashboard to the web with party chat and more | The Verge


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
How to soft launch a mobile game in 2024? Benchmarks & Real data inside! | Brutally Honest


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
A Monopoly movie is coming courtesy of Margot Robbie and Lionsgate | The Verge

Vintage Cartoon FPS Mouse Gets New Trailer With Grappling Hook, Spinach Power-Up, And More | GameInformer

Royal Match races from $2 billion to $3 billion earnings faster than any other game | PGBiz


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Look at Gaming #382 | 4.12.2024

GM! Happy Friday. I have a good data dump for you today. This one is about F2P games on Steam.

Some top level statistics:
• 51% of games on steam are F2P
• 8% are under $10
• 31% are $10-$50
• 11% are above $50

A look deeper into the stats reveal that F2P ceded market share in terms of total hours spent to premium ($10-50) live service games. This hints at a potential shift in the content preferences. Players are leaning into more core genres with richer content. The premium games with live services meet players where they're heading.

But back to F2P games that do manage to hold onto their gamers. The top 25 F2P Games Capture 88% of CCU share (player engagement). This is extremely top heavy — exhibit 1: Counter-Strike 2 accounts for 25%. When you overlay this data point with the fact that the avg age of a Top 10 F2P Game is 7 years, it paints a stark landscape for existing and particularly new F2P titles.

But a new blue ocean may be openning up in the premium-lite live-service games. Games that are priced between $10-$30 with a promise of more content offers dev studios some reprieve with immediate sales and potential for continued revenue. Plus the player demographic that take a chance on these titles is growing.

In other news, check out Gam3s.gg's Q1 blockchain report. The team delivered a fairly comprehensive yet not too boring to read recap.

Have a wonderful weekend! See you Monday.

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
State of Free to Play on Steam in 2024 – Industry Report | VG Insights


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
State of Free to Play on Steam in 2024 – Industry Report | VG Insights


🌈 Platforms 🏠
King talks soft launched Candy Crush games, making a movie and more | Mobilegamer.biz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Deep Dive Big Blockchain Game Report Q1 2024 | Big Blockchain Game List & TLDR by Gam3s.gg

Ubisoft Web3 Game Champions Tactics Exclusive Trailer | Gam3s.gg


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Look at Gaming #383 | 4.15.2024

GM! Welcome back to another week!

Today there's a hodgepodge of headlines I want to spotlight. We're starting with some learnings from Epic execs.

According to Epic Games CTO, big brands like Disney are pivoting or outright adopted gaming/digital experiences as a core part of how they interact with their customers. These iconic brands see Fortnite as a blank canvas that enables novel ways for players to connect with the brand's products and IP.

See Fortnite's LEGO survival game. LEGO wanted to create an experience that's very far from the traditional battle royale. What's notable is not that LEGO created a different genre game, but that the LEGO assets, IP, and brand awareness will translate over to UEFN.

As more and more brands onboard to Fortnite, UEFN grows to becoming the biggest toy store and sandbox in the world with untold number of IPs.

Another headline that caught my attention was Roblox adding video ads into their advertising product suite. When I used to do UA on Roblox for our games, the ad tech platform was horrendous. No data analytics. No automation. No targeting. The ad creatives were all static images and banners.

Now, there are numerous options for advertisers, from in-game billboards/portals to reward video ads. Plus the ad platform now allows for programmatic media buying. This is important because of Roblox's player demographics. At one point, half of US kids were playing Roblox.

There isn't another platform in which advertisers could use to reach this demo when they're most engaged.

Last headline to spotlight is Chase (yes the big bank) is launching an ad network that consists of its 80M users based on their purchase data. This reminds me of how in crypto advertisers can target users based on wallet holdings and activities. Chase Bank's ad network could be a great comparable case study to see how valuable the crypto ad market would be.

That's it for Monday! I know its a big one but lets start the week off strong!

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Epic execs say IP holders don't care about Fortnite, but they really want its ecosystem | GameDeveloper


🌊 MARKET 📞
Skybound returns to Republic crowdfunding to fund Invincible title | GamesBeat

Apple denies violating court order over alternative payments | GamesIndustry.biz

Gaming Industry Report - Q1 2024 | Konvoy Ventures


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Matej Lancaric: The Story of a Solopreneur | Brutally Honest


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Epic execs say IP holders don't care about Fortnite, but they really want its ecosystem | GameDeveloper

Roblox partners with PubMatic to power video ads | PGBiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
STEPN Partners With Adidas For Exclusive NFT Sneakers | Gam3s.gg


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Pre-Production and Brainstorming Optimization | GameDeveloper

How to build branching narrative without breaking the bank | GameDeveloper


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Avalon raises $10M to launch hybrid Web3 MMO | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Sony’s PS5 Pro is real and developers are getting ready for it | The Verge

Content Warning sells 1 million copies following launch giveaway | GameDeveloper


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Look at Gaming #384 | 4.16.2024

GM! I always like to study Roblox's policies.

As one of the largest UGC platform in the world, Roblox has unique access to data and insights on user behaviors at scale — player-developer, player-player, and developer-developer relationships.

The intricate balancing act that Roblox must conduct when setting its policy is the endproduct of its analysis of its ecosystem and stakeholders.

So today I want to spotlight their newest policy called "Publishing Advance".

UGC marketplaces are riddled with subpar content — some are outright fraudulent or IP infringements. To combat this, Roblox instilled a new policy, in which creators must pay an upfront fee when they publish an asset onto the marketplace.

Each time their item is sold, the creator will receie a rebate from Roblox until the Publishing Advance fee is repaid, only after that would Roblox receive its platform fees.

This is quite an interesting model. I can absolutely see a policy like this being adopted in crypto. This is also like a "staking" and "gas paying "mechanic rolled into one.

Creators must pay "pay gas" to list the item so they can't spam the marketplace. But, that gas payment turns into a "stake", then creators would receive some rewards whenever a sale was made.

Roblox also recently relaunched their whole marketplace so I'm sure new policies are sure to be released overtime.

That's it for today folks!

Catch y'all tomorrow.


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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Roblox introducing new 'publishing advance' fee as it opens up creator marketplace | GameDeveloper


🌊 MARKET 📞
StreamElements & Rainmaker.gg: State of the Streaming market in March 2024 | GameDev Reports


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Revealed: the state of Steam wishlist conversions & 'long tail' in 2024 | GameDiscoverCo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Roblox introducing new 'publishing advance' fee as it opens up creator marketplace | GameDeveloper

Fortnite's Next Star Wars Crossover Will Span Lego, Festival, and Battle Royale Modes| GameInformer

Skybound turns to crowdfunding for triple-A Invincible game | GameDeveloper


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Web3 AI-powered Game AVALON Raises $10 Million | Gam3s.gg


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Fallout games double in player count after Prime series premiere | GameDeveloper

MiHoYo green lights Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail movies with government backing | PGBiz

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Roblox introducing new 'publishing advance' fee as it opens up creator marketplace | GameDeveloper


🌊 MARKET 📞
StreamElements & Rainmaker.gg: State of the Streaming market in March 2024 | GameDev Reports


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Revealed: the state of Steam wishlist conversions & 'long tail' in 2024 | GameDiscoverCo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Roblox introducing new 'publishing advance' fee as it opens up creator marketplace | GameDeveloper

Fortnite's Next Star Wars Crossover Will Span Lego, Festival, and Battle Royale Modes| GameInformer

Skybound turns to crowdfunding for triple-A Invincible game | GameDeveloper


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Web3 AI-powered Game AVALON Raises $10 Million | Gam3s.gg


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Fallout games double in player count after Prime series premiere | GameDeveloper

MiHoYo green lights Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail movies with government backing | PGBiz

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Look at Gaming #385 | 4.17.2024

GM! Can't believe its halfway through the week already! Today I want to talk about esports.

Its quite evident now that the esports still haven't solved for its economic model. But yet, there was an announcement about the Esports World Cup's record-breaking prize pool of over $60 million for 2024 marks a significant milestone in the esports industry.


Record-Breaking Prize Pool: The $60 million prize pool surpasses the previous record of $45 million, demonstrating the growing scale and importance of esports events globally.

Venue and Timing: The event will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from early July through August. It will eventually be held in Qiddiya, an entertainment city under construction, showcasing the country's commitment to becoming a hub for esports.

Participating Games: The Esports World Cup will feature 20 different tournaments across a variety of games, including popular titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, Fortnite, and Counter-Strike 2.

Club Championship: A unique feature of the event is the Club Championship, where the top 16 clubs based on overall performance across different games will be awarded a total of $20 million.

Distribution of Prize Pool: The prize pool will be distributed across various categories, including Game Championships, MVP Awards, and Qualifiers. Each participating game will have its own prize pool.

Sustainable Business Model: The Esports World Cup Foundation, as a nonprofit organization, aims to create a sustainable esports ecosystem. Revenue streams include sponsorships, merchandise, ticketing, and media rights, with host country fees playing a significant role.

Overall, the Esports World Cup's massive prize pool underscores the growing significance of esports on the global stage and highlights efforts to create sustainable and inclusive competitive gaming environments.

Additionally, in other esports news, we saw that CoD esports is changing the way they interact with teams/managers. The official CoD esports league is extending a 2-year guaranteed revenue contracts to teams.

That's it for today! Catch yall tomorrow.


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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Esports World Cup will have record-breaking prize pool of more than $60M | GamesBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
GTA publisher Take-Two to cut 5% of staff as it cancels new games | PGbiz

70 percent of devs unsure of live-service games sustainability | GameDeveloper

How 10 Chambers is using Lurkit as a force for creator engagement | GamesIndustry.biz

Call of Duty League offers better financial terms for esports teams | GamesBeat

Esports World Cup will have record-breaking prize pool of more than $60M | GamesBeat


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Mobile gaming’s haves and have-nots | MobileDevMemo


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Ronin EVM sidechain onboards popular South Korean MMORPG IP Ragnarok | The Block

TikTok parent company explores on-chain possibilities for Web3 gaming and AI | Coin Telegraph


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Navigating the supply maze: Picking the best demand platform in 2024 | PGBiz

Why it's become harder to raise investments in mobile game development in 2024 | GamesIndustry.biz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
A16z raises second gaming fund at $600M as part of $7.2B funding | GamesBeat

Red Rover Interactive secures $15M in Series A funding round | GamesBeat

Indie gamers Avalon gear up for global launch with $10 million investment | PGBiz


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Look at Gaming #386 | 4.18.2024

Look at Gaming #386 | 4.18.2024

GM! We are over hump day and the weekend is right... there.

But before that, let's look at Fortnite's top third-party IP cosmetics and skins. It's almost like, "If you don't have your own Fortnite skin, were you even that popular?"

Fortnite allows third-party websites like Fortnite.gg to track cool and obscure things about the game. The good folks over at GamesDiscoverCo (GDC) decided to dive deeper into the popularity of certain skins/cosmetics.

The methodology is that skins that came with the battle pass (aka "free skins") are in one group and the other group are pay-to-download skins. GDC looked at player data on the most recent patch when the skin was released and here's what they found.

Amongst the top 20 free skins, number one was Neymar Jr, used by 13% of the players. Not only was this skin number one, but was the only real-life celebrity skin used. Fourteen out of the top 20 skins are superhero-related — across DC and Marvel.

That speaks to the superhero craze that we're currently in for pop culture. But when we look at pay-to-download skins, we see that players prefer real-life celebrities with Travis Scott, his alter ego Astro Jack, and Slim Shady (Eminem) being the top 3 skins. Additionally, we see some world-class anime IP such as Naruto and Dragon Ball being in the top 20 paid skins.

That's crazy! Players preferring to dress up as their favorite real person rather than superheroes or IPs wouldn't have been my guess. But I suspect that the Travis Scott and Eminem skins probably act as souvenir merch from their in-game concert. Plus seeing my childhood Anime up there was also quite cool.

Fortnite is more than just a battle royale game but it is a platform for pop culture.

Catch you tomorrow!


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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
What are Fortnite's top 'third-party IP' skins? | GameDiscoverCo


🌊 MARKET 📞
Royal Match vs. Monopoly Go Smackdown! | GameMakers

Merge Market Overview | Brutally Honest

What are Fortnite's top 'third-party IP' skins? | GameDiscoverCo

What it’s like to make a video game with Nintendo | Game File


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
The Joy and Pain of Game Mastery | GameDeveloper

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Look at Gaming #388 | 4.29.2024

GM! Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Let's kick this week off with some direct-to consumer action.

A new era of additional revenue sources and better margins is upon us (maybe?). Cutting that 30% App Store fees down to 10% fee for webshops.

This savings trickle down to the players as well in the form of discounts, freebies, or more affordable premium in-game items.

But this is the game studio's chance to move beyond just in-game items. A webshop expands the offerings to physical goods and maybe even experiences (imagine buying BlizzCon passes and a T shirt to go with it).

The deepening of the D2C relationship could look like this::

1. Offer a discount for signing up for the newsletter with an email address. Huuuge Games does this in their Huuuge Casino title.

2. Provide a free gift for creating an account, enabling tracking of customer actions across devices. For instance, Kabam’s Shop Titans offers daily/weekly free gifts to their registered players via their webshops.

3. Recommend personalized items (either via email or on a webshop) based on browsing history, enhancing conversion and retention. A Thinking Ape’s Party in My Dorm is one good example.

4. Send promotional emails for sales or special gifts to drive conversion and retention. Scopely’s Marvel Strike Force does a great job here, they send a weekly email with promotions that can be found in-game and on their webshop.

5. Develop VIP/loyalty programs that reward players with points for every purchase that they can redeem for discounts and free items. Rovio’s Red Club loyalty program is a great example.

6. Use email addresses of high-spending customers to create targeted audiences on platforms like Meta and Google.

This is definitely a new area that I'm excited to see develop further. We saw what D2C did to brands and ecommerce.

In other news, check out Konvoy's piece on potential upcoming IPOs and the article by GamesIndustry.biz on game engines.

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
The era of direct-to-consumer for mobile games is here | GamesBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
The era of direct-to-consumer for mobile games is here | GamesBeat

InvestGame: Gaming Investment Market in Q1’24 | InvestGames

PocketGamer.biz Podcast Week in Views E09 - Supercell's Squad Busters goes global, Embracer Group splits, and Apple's Vision Pro flops | PGBiz

Activision Blizzard boosts Microsoft financials as Xbox hardware revenue falls | GameDeveloper

Newzoo: Top-10 Games by Revenue in the USA and Europe in Q1'24 | Newzoo


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
WTF Is Happening in Gaming! India! | GameMakers

Gaming IPO Watch List (2024) | Konvoy Ventures

What I think about games investing in 2024 | Naavik & David Kaye

2024 Casual Gaming Apps Report | GameRefinery

How accessible are game engines, and how much is still to be done? | GamesIndustry.biz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Ubisoft returns to Web3 gaming with new titles in the works | GamesBeat

Immutable zkEVM Offering Up to $50 Million in Token Rewards to Ethereum Gamers | Decrypt.gg

Zentry x Beam united with $300M treasury to incubate Sophon (Congrats to the frens!!) | Zentry


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Fintech gaming startup Sanlo’s webshop tool could help developers avoid costly app store fees | TechCrunch

Web3 game startup GFAL raises $3.3M from Supercell and Mitch Lasky | GamesBeat

CARV Secures $10 Million For Gaming Data Layer and AI | Gam3s.gg


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Nintendo Switch 2 reportedly has magnetic Joy-Cons, new cartridges, larger 1080p screen | GamesIndustry.biz


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👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — April 28 to May 4

💎 Gaming Spotlight 🥜
• Research on Node Sales: What is it, when investors can get their capital back, who benefits the most from this meta, and what can be improved going forward — Read More

🔄 Gaming Updates
• Illuvium — Launched Private Beta 4 Testnet (April 30 - May 28)
• Blade Games — Dune Factory Alpha Test (May 1 - 12)
• METALCORE — Closed Beta 2.5 (May 1 - 14)
• Sky Strife — Season 1 Launch on Redstone Mainnet (May 1 - 31)
• Wanderers — Launched First Jump Closed Beta on Epic Games (May 3)
• Mixmob — Coming to Android/iOS (May 7)
• Crypto Unicorns — XAI Migration (May 7)
• THE WATCH — Potential public alpha launch (May 8)
• Paradise Tycoon — Beta Snapshot 2 (May 8)
• EFAS — Citizen Passport WL (May 10)
• Fusionist — ACE Arenas launch (May 15)
• Worldwide Webb — Game playable now as PWA (play.webb.game)
• Fantasy Top — Mainnet Launch
• AI Waifu — Game launch on Base (Free until May 14)
• Rumble Kong League — Partnered up with with Gatorade
• zkCandy — Incentivized testnet coming soon

🔖 Gaming Reads
• Decentralised — Infinite Worlds: AI, IP Composability and Autonomous Agents
• Tax Cuts — The hit-or-miss nature of the gaming industry & why simply using crypto as a false solution to PMF will fail

▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens
• Blockchain Gaming World — Why Midnight is building its Evergreen multiverse one game at a time
• Game Economist Cast — Episode 25: The Veblen Goods Model that explains Web3 (w/ Dr. Sam Rosen)
• Doubl3Tap — Episode 17: Ben (Cambria)
• Naavik — Nyan Heroes: Cats, Mechs & Esports in Web3

💸 Gaming Fundraising
• Blade Games — Raised $2.4m Seed round led by PTC Crypto & IOSG Ventures
• Saltwater Games — Raised $5.5m Seed round led by Deus X & 4R Capital
• SHADOW War — Raised $5m Series A from Momentum 6, Cointelligence, Cogitent Ventures & Spicy Capital
• G4AL — Raised $3.2m Seed round from Supercell & Mitch Lasky
• XBORG — Raised $5.7m Pre-Sale from the public at $114m FDV

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

Look at Gaming #389 | 5.06.2024

GM! Happy Monday.

This week I want to kick it off with mobile games discovery, particularly under the current climate of Apple/Android app stores facing regulatory scrutiny.

Previously, game studios didn't have to worry too much beyond creating a fun game. But today the competition for customers is rough and the burden is on the game studios to acquire users.

Could there exist almost themed/genred-based app stores? A way for niches to shine without having to compete with the generalized market which is getting more and more expensive to operate in.

Second order effect from this line of thinking is who would then be the storefront builders and keepers and what novel methods would they adopt to win and retain users.

For example, Netflix could become a storefront. What would it offer? Just the existing and similar titles or would they engender to do more. How about LinkedIn, which recently launched games on their platform? Outside of just casual games, could core gamers recruit players via LinkedIn? Could players list their gaming achievements on their LinkedIn profiles?

These are exciting times, with the shuffling of titans and gatekeepers in the app store landscape. We have a shot to re-empower players and redefine the dynamics.

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
The app store standoff is a chance to reshape mobile game discovery | GamesIndustry.biz


🌊 MARKET 📞
The Esports Future Summit: 7 things we learned | PGBiz

Meta loses another $3.8 billion on VR/AR | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Liftoff & GameRefinery: Casual Games in 2024 | GameRefinery

Infinite Worlds | Decentralised.co

The app store standoff is a chance to reshape mobile game discovery | GamesIndustry.biz


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Google objects to Epic's proposed changes to Play Store policy | GamesIndustry.biz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Over 127 Blockchain Games Now on Epic Games Store | Gam3s.gg

AnimeCoin Launches ‘Gacha Grab’ Game With Ethereum NFT Collection Azuki | Decrypt.gg

Redstone Network Launches to Power Fully On-Chain Ethereum Games | Decrypt.gg

Blockchain Gaming Makes Up 40% Of The Q1 Private Placements | Gam3s.gg


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Manor Lords is slow and frustrating, and I can’t stop playing | The Verge


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