Look at Gaming #237 | Friday June 23rd 2023

The Sony x Microsoft x Activision x FTC saga is heating up with day 1 of the trial beginning.

Sony has reportedly planned to cut Activision from PS6 plans and Microsoft, through Bethesda will make their upcoming Indiana Jones game exclusive to Xbox & PC.

Long-term wise, this only losers in this whole saga may just be the consumers....


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
How Sorare Demonstrates a Sustainable Web3 Model | Naavik


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Sony is prepared to cut Activision Blizzard from PlayStation 6 plans | Game Developer

Bethesda's Indiana Jones Game Will Be Exclusive To Xbox And PC | Game Informer

Microsoft, FTC square off in Activision trial | Axios


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
NFL Rivals Scores 1M Downloads for NFT-Based Mobile Game | Coindesk


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Lumikai launches new $50m game fund backed by Supercell, Krafton and more | Pocket Gamer


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Diablo Immortal earned $525M in the first year on mobile | GameDev Reports

2024 Video Game Release Schedule | Game Informer


——————


Drop a gg into the comment! Would love to hear from you! ❤️

Look at Gaming #239 | Wednesday June 28th 2023

GM GM everyone. Let's take a break from the Microsoft FTC news for a bit and talk about some statistics that came out of WeChat today.

There are 400M+ MAU on WeChat's mini-games — that's an insane figure. Mini-games started in 2017 but was released worldwide in 2019. This large user base is enticing so 300k teams are working on shipping games exclusively on WeChat. There are similar superapps like Kakao Talk which also has a large gaming pressence.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
WeChat’s mini-games have over 400m monthly active users | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Microsoft exec was ready to ‘go spend Sony out of business’ to strengthen Xbox | The Verge

StreamElements & Rainmaker.gg: State of game streaming market in May 2023 | GameDevReport

KOCCA: In 2022 the South Korean gaming market revenue was $16.4B | GameDevReport

Microsoft considered a bid on SEGA | Axios

Microsoft sacrificed Xbox Series X sales for ‘long term ambition’ in the cloud | The Verge

Microsoft's Phil Spencer and the FTC | Axios

June's China game approvals make it 2023's biggest month yet | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Embracer must focus on quality not quantity if it wants its bets to pay off | Opinion | GamesIndustry.biz

Breaking Down EA’s Executive Shakeup | Naavik

Netflix's password-sharing crackdown calculus | Mobile Dev Memo by Eric Seufert


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Unity rolls out AI tools and marketplace for game developers | GameDeveloper

Meta Forms VR Subscription | GameDeveloper

YouTube reportedly experimenting with online games | TechCrunch

WeChat’s mini-games have over 400m monthly active users | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Mythical Games Raises $37 Million as NFL Rivals Tops 1M Downloads | Decrypt

Los Angeles, California: Where Hollywood Magic and Creativity Meet Web3 | CoinDesk

Fortnite's Collab With Nike's NFT Platform Doesn't Include In-Game NFTs | Decrypt


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
The future of app marketing in a privacy-centric age | VentureBeat


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Mythical Games Raises $37 Million as NFL Rivals Tops 1M Downloads | Decrypt


Web3 Gaming Studio Pixion Games Closes $5.5M in Seed Funding | CoinDesk

Publishing and analytics services firm SuperScale raises $5.4m | GamesIndustry.biz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Sensor Tower: FIFA Mobile reached $1B in revenue; South Korea is the largest mobile FIFA market | GameDevReport

Look at Gaming #240 | Wednesday June 28th 2023

A clear trend is emerging in mobile. The shift from hypercasual to hybridcasual is often talked about but there's another blossoming niche: midcore.

LiftOff (GameRefinery an analytics platform) released a report indicating that 35% of game revenue on iOS in the US comes from midcore games. The report also revealed that top grossing titles are strategy games. It also mentions that CPI for strategy is at $2.77 and $7.47 for shooters and $0.60 for RPGs.

Though midcore games have a hard time getting their return-on-ad-spend quickly when compared to casual games, the potential to build a deeper fan base shouldn't be discounted.

It might only be 35% in the US but I suspect that figure to be higher for Tier 1 eastern countries like Japan and Korea.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Midcore makes up 35% of total gaming revenue on iOS in the United States | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Capcom world sales reached 500M copies | GameDevReport

Midcore makes up 35% of total gaming revenue on iOS in the United States | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

Final Showdown in Microsoft’s FTC Duel | Naavik


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The bull and bear cases for mobile gaming | Mobile Dev Memo by Eric Seufert


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Reflecting Upon the Last year in Blockchain Games | Deconstructor of Fun

Adventure Gold (AGLD) DAO is launching the Loot Chain, a dedicated layer 2 blockchain for the Loot community. | ALGD Twitter


💲 Fundraising 🤑
SuperScale raises $5.4M to grow games revenue SaaS platform | VentureBeat

Potential of in-game ads soars as Anzu raises $48M in Series B funding | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Apple Arcade adds Stardew Valley, Slay the Spire in July | VentureBeat

__________

Drop a gg! Show some love. Miss y'all.

Let me know what your thoughts are about the MSFT x FTC.

Fundraising seems to be picking up a bit too. Are you guys seeing it on your end?

Look at Gaming #241 | Thursday June 29th 2023

Lotta goodies came out of the court documents today. Turns out it costs slightly north of $200M for PlayStation's top first-party games. These include titles like Horizon Forbidden West that cost $212M across 5 years with over 300 people. Another title, The Last of Us Part II took nearly 6 years to create with $220M and 200 full-time employees.

The juicy data keeps getting juicier with some leak info on the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation. CoD pulls in more than $1B per year on PlayStation, $800M coming from the US. The whole CoD franchsie has lifetime earnings of $27B as of 2020 per ATVI. 66% of all U.S. PlayStation users play CoD.

The final hours of this trial is upon us. Who are you guys rooting for?


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
PlayStation's top first-party games now cost >$200 million to make | GameDiscoverCo


🌊 MARKET 📞
2023 Midcore Gaming Apps Report | LiftOff


🌈 Platforms 🏠
PlayStation's top first-party games now cost >$200 million to make | GamesDiscoverCo


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Sotheby's to Launch New Gen Art Program Highlighting Generative Artists | CoinDesk

Warner Music Group and Polygon (MATIC) Launch Blockchain Music Accelerator | CoinDesk


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
GamesBeat Special Issue — Gaming communities: Making connections and fighting toxicity | VentureBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Among Us is getting an animated TV series | News-in-brief | GamesIndustry.biz

__________

Drop a gg! Show some love. Miss y'all.

Let me know what your thoughts are about the MSFT x FTC.

Fundraising seems to be picking up a bit too. Are you guys seeing it on your end?

Look at Gaming #242 | Friday June 30th 2023

Big news came out of Bellevue today and I'm not referring to Microsoft. Valve (creator of Steam) won't publish titles that use AI-generated content.

The story is that there's a developer who tried to submit their game to Steam but got flagged by the review team. Steam required the studio to show that they owned the rights to the dataset used by the A.I. before their title could be published.

This is a tall order. It is impossible for a team to own the dataset of the underlying A.I.. The team could potential get a "right to use" the dataset but outright ownership seems farfetched.

These copyright issues has been a grey area in gen. AI writ large so it's not surprising to see some backlash within the gaming space. Valve doesn’t want to get sued to oblivion so I understand their tempered and reserved approach.

Though, Steam is a vital and integral stakeholder and infrastructure provider for a lot of folks in the gaming space so I hope some clearer guidelines emerge sooner rather than later.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Report: Valve won't publish Steam titles that use AI-generated content | GameDeveloper


🌊 MARKET 📞
Microsoft and Activision CEOs battle to keep a giant Xbox deal alive | The Verge

Is the FTC vs Microsoft hearing over yet? | Microcast | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Nadella's endgame | SuperJoost Playlist


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Report: Valve won't publish Steam titles that use AI-generated content | GameDeveloper


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
SuperDuper partners with Immutable on Web3 RTS Overlord | VentureBeat


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Mythical Games raises a further $37million, hitting a valuation of over $1billio | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

Scriptic raises $5.7m in seed funding round | GamesIndustry.biz

WAGME #17 — Gods Unchained debuts on Epic Games, Yuga Labs reveals HV-MTL Forge S1, & Sparkball debuts on Steam. With fresh entrants like Rumble Arcade, FFG & Loot Chain launching, Web3 Gaming never disappoints.

• ❗️ 6 Priority Items to pique your interest
• 💻 10 Mints n Drops to look into
• 📘 8 Guides to keep you ahead
• 👾 26 Game Releases/Updates to keep you in the loop
• 🧐 9 Newly Spotted Games to track

——————

Drop a gg! ❤️

Here's Week 2️⃣6️⃣ of In The Loop.

Can't believe half the year has already passed!

This week there's a lot of news about platforms.

• YouTube launching mini games. 👀

• WeChat's mini games hit 400M MAU. ‼️

• Valve disallows AI-gen content on Steam. ❌

• Roblox allows 17+ Mature content. 🆒

There are many more blogs, threads, and pods to check out so be sure to head over to the newsletter.

https://tinyurl.com/thecoreloopitlw26

Look at Gaming #243 | Monday July 3rd 2023

GM! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Happy Fourth to those in the states. And what better way to celebrate independence than to launch your own app store.

That's exactly what Meta is purportedly doing. It seems that users may be able to download apps from within the Facebook app; though, this will only be available in Europe.

This not only opens up a whole new "App Store" but also an internal Ad Network within the Facebook App. For those familiar with programmatic media buying/UA, imagine the FB Ad Manager now lets you manage ads not only on Facebook's Ad network which serves ads in other apps but also ads inside the Facebook app itself — much meta, so inception.

P.S. Samsung set to launch its own game store in 30 countries.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Meta to get into the app store game as Facebook allows app downloads | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Five Key Mobile Game Genres ​in Asia and MENA​ (in collaboration with AppMagic) | Niko Partners

American Truck Simulator is running ads for real truck companies | GameDeveloper

South Korea could enforce an approval system for Chinese games | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

Microsoft’s FTC fight comes down to Call of Duty | The Verge


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Skill gaming and the future of real money gaming | Nancy MacIntyre | VentureBeat

The Future of Game Shows | Konvoy Ventures

#213: Rise of the robots | Hit Points by Nathan Brown

Meta to launch direct-to-install ads for Android. Will they work? | Mobile Dev Memo by Eric Seufert


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Samsung to launch online gaming store in 30 countries | VentureBeat

Meta to get into the app store game as Facebook allows app downloads | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

Unity pulls the plug on Atlas AI generation tool less than 24 hours after launch | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Ubisoft Reveals Next Blockchain Game, Champions Tactics | Decrypt

Can Web3 Gaming on Mobile Succeed? | Naavik


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
AAA vs. Gaming Startups | Naavik

Look at Gaming #244 | Tuesday July 4th 2023

Happy Fourth! Enjoy some good ol' BBQ y'all! 💥😎

Valve gave us a little insight into how their thinking about AI-generated games on Steam.

The crux of their policy is the legality of the AI content. Valve must adhere to current copyright laws and policies in place. But as we all know legislation/regulation moves much slower than innovation.

This is a very conservative stance on Valve's part. But the Half-Life creator also said that they know the landscape is constantly evolving and so will they — as the famous PR line goes, "the situation is fluid". Valve did offer to refund the non-refundable app submission fee for cases that involves AI-gen.

This is also on the heels that Unity rolled back all their AI tools practically within 24 hours of announcing it.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Valve responds to claims it has banned AI-generated games from Steam | TechCrunch


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Minecraft earned four times as much revenue on Switch compared to Xbox | GameDeveloper

Report: Apple scales down plans for Vision Pro headset | GamesIndustry.biz

Valve responds to claims it has banned AI-generated games from Steam | TechCrunch


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Building a Sustainable Web3 Game With Sorare | YouTube

Deconstructing On-chain Game Engines | Twitter

List of On-chain Game Infra | Twitter


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Xbox Series X|S have sold a combined 21m units | GamesIndustry.biz

—————

Drop a gg in the comment. I want to hear from you guys!

Who do you want to win in the FTC v MSFT?

Look at Gaming #245 | Wednesday July 5th 2023

Quiet day today in gaming land. Thinking folks are just sitting back this week and holding out all news in the off chance that the FTC v MSFT court ruling was released — that would for sure drown out all other headlines.

Nonetheless, we see another court-related action today. Apple is appealing to the US Supreme Court to overturn a decision in the Epic antitrust case. Recall that although the District Court of California ruled against Epic on 9 out of 10 claims, the one claim that got approved was the most important one regarding Apple's anti-steering practices (aka not allowing developers to use 3rd party payment portals).

Apple had already appealed this to the US Court of Appeals but it looks like the Appellate court is going to uphold the District court's ruling. So Apple must seek "justice" from the highest court of the land. Apple is claiming two key things: (1) Since Epic isn't representative of a class, the court can't apply a universal injunction; (2) Since the case was brought in California, it shouldn't be a nationwide injunction.

This is coming on the heels of rumors about Meta and their app store inside the FB mobile app. Turf wars everywhere.



⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Apple asks US Supreme Court to overthrow ruling in Epic antitrust case | GamesIndustry.biz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Why do games media layoffs keep happening? | GamesIndustry.biz

June’s top mobile game downloads worldwide | Mobilegamer.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Meta to launch a Twitter competitor. Can this time be different? | Mobile Dev Memo by Eric Seufert


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Apple asks US Supreme Court to overthrow ruling in Epic antitrust case | GamesIndustry.biz


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Grow your retention & focus on fun | Deconstructor of Fun

Creating Rhythm-Action Game by Hi-Fi Rush creator | The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook

—————

Drop a gg in the comment. I want to hear from you guys!

Anyone playing D4?

Look at Gaming #246 | Thursday July 6th 2023

Fundraising has been tough all around unless you're an AI company. For gaming we saw a dip in deal count in Q2 2023. In terms of exits, we're at the lowest since Q1 of 2018.

With the uncertainty surrounding anti-trust and regs, large acquisitions are stalled. Additionally, crossover funds, PE funds, basically any institution with a deep stack is trigger shy right now.

Europe and North America numbers drag the global figures lower but Asia is roughly on pace with 2022.

Rough, rough, rough! All eyes on the MSFT v FTC case results.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Global VC deals slipped further in Q2 | Pitchbook | VentureBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
Embracer raises $182 million via share issue | GamesIndustry.biz

Global VC deals slipped further in Q2 | Pitchbook | VentureBeat

Steam Bans CS:GO Accounts With $2 Million Worth of Skins—Do NFTs Fix This? | Decrypt

South Korean government charges Game Rating and Administration Committee with embezzlement | GamesIndustry.biz

GameRefinery & Liftoff: Mid-core games in 2023 | GameDevReport

MENA and social gaming - what does it take to succeed in one of the world’s fast | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
The complete introduction to Unity game development | GameDeveloper

Rovio's masterclass for creating memorable characters | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

An indie developer's guide to industry events, trade shows, and exhibitions | GameDeveloper

Harnessing the Potential of Video Game Sound Design | Kevuru Games

How to create engaging open worlds | GamesIndustry.biz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Aito raises $6.5M to make finger-sensing and haptics for laptops | VentureBeat

Look at Gaming #247 | Friday July 7th 2023

Late post y'all! Apologies for missing it yesterday! But here's your news for Friday.

I want to spotlight Riot's publishing division called Riot Forge. This is the prime example of an IP-Turn-Platform.

Riot launched a publisher to further expand its universe for its IP. They recognized that the MOBA genre isn't great for storytelling so they decided to allow other studios to take their IP and build new worlds and rich lore.

One could draw a parallel from Riot's success to what all the web3 games/studios are trying to do with their "ecosystem" angles. But what's important to note is that Brandon Beck and Mark Merrill (founders of Riot) set out to build the best MOBA game, not to platformatize their IP.

Gotta get the basics right first.

Recall that Riot started as a "fork" of the Warcraft III mode called Defend of the Ancients (DotA). Riot's success story is worthy of a case study.

Have a great weekend y'all.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Riot Forge boss "would love" to publish League of Legends dating sim | GameDeveloper


🌊 MARKET 📞
Report: Women make up 37% of Asia's gamers | GamesIndustry.biz

NCSoft stock down 36.6% since January, with further dip after lacklustre pre-reg | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

Niantic Layoffs / Square Enix’s Future / FTC Lawsuit Revelations | Naavik

Embracer Group raises $182 million through share issue | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

South Korean regulator ousts staff after odd corruption investigation | GameDeveloper


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The Death of the Social Internet, and What’s Next | Jacob Wolf

Virtual Reality and Misaligned Expectations | Konvoy


🌈 Platforms 🏠
How Samsung gives gamers options beyond buying consoles | Mike Lucero | VentureBeat

Court blocks restraining order against EA college football game | GamesIndustry.biz

Riot Forge boss "would love" to publish League of Legends dating sim | GameDeveloper


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
The Most Anticipated Crypto and NFT Games | Decrypt

Sorare unveils licensed NFTs for top NBA draft picks | VentureBeat

Web3 games don’t need to highlight blockchain elements to succeed | TechCrunch

Sega cools interest in blockchain and NFT games | GameDeveloper


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Microsoft reported about 21M+ sold Xbox Series S|X | GameDevReports

Look at Gaming #248 | Monday July 10th 2023

Just a short one for Monday y'all. It was quiet over the weekend.

There is one headline that I wanted to spotlight. The growth in gaming amongst women and girls. There was a headline previously about how the age group 50+ feels neglected by the games industry and how that same segment is growing rapidly with over 30% of adults 45+ playing online games.

Here are some stats on female gamers. 47% of console gamers are female. Females make up half of PC gamers and 54% of mobile gamers.

The breakdown of console type is even more interesting as females own: 52% of Switch, 45% of Xbox Series, and 41% of PS5.

This speaks to the broader trend of "everyone is a gamer" and more particularly how certain segments are becoming the lion share of the market.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
What To Watch: Growth in Gaming Among Women and Girls | The NPD Group


🌊 MARKET 📞
What To Watch: Growth in Gaming Among Women and Girls | The NPD Group


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Mobile Mavens: What do app downloads direct from Facebook mean for the industry? | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

Pulling the Threads: Inside social media's latest trend | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Line Next signs deal with Sega to make Web3 game for Game Dosi | VentureBeat

Look at Gaming #249 | Tuesday July 11th 2023

We know China is a powerhouse when it comes to mobile gaming spend but what's less well-known is the console market — and it's larger than you might think.

Niko Partners dropped a report suggesting that the console market generated $2.3B in 2022 from nearly 17M gamers. These figures are from all sales, hardware and software, legitimate channels and grey market. Unsurprisingly, more than 3/4 of the software sales are generated via the grey market.

Niko Partners also surveyed actual players to assess what kind of games they prefer and surprisingly these are the first-party narrative-rich titles such as God of War and The Last of Us, while FPS like CoD: MW2 is played by a very small subset.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
In-depth: inside China's 'hidden' game console market | GameDiscoverCo


🌊 MARKET 📞
Classic Games Disappearing Faster Than Silent Films | Axios

In-depth: inside China's 'hidden' game console market | GamesDiscoverCo

RPGs led the pack through 2022 in MENA and Asian markets, regional trend report | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz

Gaming Industry Report - Q2 2023 | Konvoy Venture


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Netflix Games 2.0: social games push incoming after big-name live service and triple-A hires | Mobilegamer.biz

Meta's firehose (or: the wrong lesson from Threads' 100MM users) | Mobile Dev Memo by Eric Seufert


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Netflix Games 2.0: social games push incoming after big-name live service and triple-A hires | Mobilegamer.biz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Axie Infinity: Raylights launches monetization and multiplayer gaming | VentureBeat

Stepn Creator's Next Game Is a Social MMO Called Gas Hero | Decrypt

Mighty Bear Games will publish Mighty Action Heroes on Arbitrum blockchain | VentureBeat


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Gamercraft raises $5 Million for AI-powered skill- gaming platform | VentureBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
100 Thieves debuts Bank Heist custom Fortnite Map | VentureBeat

The Boys Invades Call Of Duty This Week | Game Informer

Look at Gaming #250 | Wednesday July 12th 2023

Alas we have a conclusion to one of the largest legal case of the gaming industry. The court decided to deny the FTC's injunction of the Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

This is right on the heels of the deal's expiration date of July 18th, upon which Microsoft has to pay Activision Blizzard a breakup fee of $3B.

Initially, Microsoft kept pressing that ABK's mobile expertise and market dominance were why they pursued the deal. But in the end the case largely rested on the Call of Duty franchise.

Now there are still chances of the FTC filing an appeal so the show continues.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Judge Denies FTC's Injunction | Axios


🌊 MARKET 📞
India deals a 28% tax blow to online gaming industry | TechCrunch

Microsoft and UK regulators agree to pause their Activision battle to negotiate | The Verge

What's next for Microsoft & Activision Blizzard | Axios

Judge Denies FTC's Injunction | Axios

What happens to Microsoft and Activision Blizzard post-FTC? | VentureBeat

Judge denies injunction in Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition | VentureBeat

Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard merger can’t be blocked by FTC, judge rules | TechCrunch


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The Game Industry Has Spoken: Remote vs. Hybrid vs. On-Site | Deconstructor of Fun


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
EU’s Metaverse Vision Focuses on Standards and Governance for Virtual Worlds | Video | CoinDesk


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
What is brand marketing? | Mobile Dev Memo by Eric Seufert


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Gardens raises $31m in Series A funding round | GamesIndustry.biz

WAGME #18 — Action-packed week of open betas including Mighty Action Heroes, Gran Saga & Mithraeum. Messari drops their on-chain gaming report & Ubisoft dives into Web3 via its Tactical RPG, Champions Tactics.

• ❗️ 7 Priority Items to pique your interest
• 💻 5 Mints n Drops to look into
• 📘 8 Guides to keep you ahead
• 👾 19 Game Releases/Updates to keep you in the loop
• 🧐 9 Newly Spotted Games to track

——————

Drop a gg! ❤️

Look at Gaming #251 | Thursday July 13th 2023

What a day! We have the FTC filing for an appeal on the US District Court's decision — not surprised. Here we go again.

In other big news, we have Android dropping a MEGA policy change. Moving forward, Google Play will start supporting blockchain technology (eg NFTs) for the mobile games and apps.

This is pretty big vindication for all of us web3 folks. The terms and conditions and how the approval/review process would be are still unclear. Though, this policy only applies to existing apps this is a large step in the right direction.

Since both Apple and Androids are allowing for NFTs in mobile, there's no longer a valid claim as to why your game isn't on mobile. It's the largest gaming platform. Go get those users y'all.


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Android policy change adds blockchain support for Google Play apps | GameDeveloper


🌊 MARKET 📞
FTC Appeals Court Ruling In Activision Blizzard Acquisition Case Against Microsoft | Game Informer

Apps VS Mobile Games: Who came out on top in H1 2023 | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Xbox bonanza: that FTC win & the future of Game Pass! | GameDiscoverCo

Why esports businesses should pay close attention to employment law | Opinion | GamesIndustry.biz

Down. Not out. | SuperJoost Playlist


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Unity announces Safe Voice | GamesIndustry.biz

Roblox is coming to Meta’s Quest VR headsets | The Verge


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Android policy change adds blockchain support for Google Play apps | GameDeveloper


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Guerrilla Games and the road to Horizon: Forbidden West | GamesIndustry.biz

How Trailmix took Love & Pies from perpetual pivots to record retention | Mobilegamer.biz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Embrace raises $20M to help devs build better mobile games and apps | VentureBeat

Bring It On raises $4M to make skill-based games like Road Trip Bingo | VentureBeat

Infinite Canvas raises $6M in funding, launches AI-powered Discord game | VentureBeat

Binance Labs Invests $15 Million in Crypto Game Publisher Xterio | Decrypt


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Stumble Guys teams up with MrBeast on in-game experience | VentureBeat