🗣️ BIG NEWS 👀

🤕 PaladinsDAO is redefining the esports opportunity in web3 gaming.

It's no surprise that esports is trying to reinvent itself. Web3 unlocks a new paradigm that's both a spectacle and a speculation.

PaladinsDAO is adding an additional layer of fun to esports by utilizing NFTs to supercharge rabid web3 gaming fans and communities.

Here's how it works:
• 5,000 NFT Passes for Season 1
• Community Cup (imagine a World Cup but for NFT communities)
• Participating in the Community Cup enters you into a raffle for rare NFTs
• Wager on your fave team to earn points to be used in the Paladins Ecosystem
• Only NFT and Pass Holders can participate

(I'm a proud holder of a Paladins NFT and will defo be drinking your milkshake at the Community Cup.)

———

‼️ Mint Day: NOVEMBER 1️⃣1️⃣/1️⃣6️⃣ @ 1️⃣2️⃣PM UTC 👉

➡️ MINT
📕 READ

Look at Gaming #334 | 11.15.2023

"Over 50% of India's internet users are gamers" per Google & Lumikai's latest report.

Indian gaming market is $3.1B. Mobile games is about 1/3 of that.

The other 2/3 is comprised of RMG (real money games) — but just last month India announced a 28% tax on deposits. So the annual growth rate for this segment is projected to be just 5% until 2028.

Outside of China, India is the largest country responsible for mobile game downloads (15.4B in 2023).

Two surprising data points:
1. India's ARPPU (Avg Reg Per paying User) is $19, that's a pretty big number.

2. One out of the four gamers are a paying players.

These are pretty good numbers for a "Tier 3" country

In other news, The Game Awards is launching a Fortnite island for players to vote, Niko Partners x Tencent released their report on MENA & Asia gaming market, and Google CEO dropping into the Epic v Google trial.

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Lumikai & Google: The Indian Gaming Market in 2023 and Forecast until 2027 | GameDev Reports


🌊 MARKET 📞
The Game Awards launches Fortnite island giving players the vote | GamesBeat

GTA 6 is not being made by the same Rockstar that made GTA 5 | GamesIndustry.biz

Google’s CEO is about to drop into the Fortnite trial | The Verge

Lumikai & Google: The Indian Gaming Market in 2023 and Forecast until 2027 | GameDev Reports

Nexon’s Q3 2023 smashes records with 78% revenue rise in North America and Europe | PGBiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Amazon’s advertising partnerships with Meta and Snap | MobileDevMemo

The journey to probabilistic attribution (with Michael Kaminsky) | MobileDevMemo

Niko Partners x Tencent Present Deep Insights Into Asian & MENA Markets | Niko Partners

Brand strategy in an information war | MobileDevMemo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Samsung Gaming Hub adds Boosteroid cloud gaming service | GamesBeat


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Immutable removes ‘gas’ fees from Web3 player experience with zkEVM blockchain | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Tips for building your own accessibility program | GameDeveloper


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Transcend Fund amasses nearly $60m in second seed fund | GamesIndustry.biz

Squido Studio raises CA$1.5m in funding round | GamesIndustry.biz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Pokémon Concierge’s first trailer has perfect stats | The Verge

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Look at Gaming #335 | 11.16.2023

GM! It's Thursday.

We have a collection of headlines today. AppFlyer indicated that UA budgets have dropped 20% in Q3 of 2023, when compared to Q3 2022. Apple Search Ads is the top media source — unsurprisingly since ATT pretty much killed everything else.

On iOS, the ranking goes
• ASA (Apple Search Ads) > Mintegral > AppLovin > Meta > Unity

On Android, the ranking starts:
• Google (duh!) > Unity > IronSource > Meta > AppLovin.

AppFlyer tracked 11.5B across 30k mobile apps from April till September for the data above.

Aside from that, I also want to highlight these two headlines regarding UGC-fication and platformatization.
(1) Supercell opens up Creator Program
(2) CD Projekt working on The Witcher 3 mod editor

Supercell has hundred of millions of downloads with billions in lifetime revenue across multiple franchises. The mobile powerhouse is lowering the gates to its Creator Program now allowing micro-influencers to create experiences.

The Witcher 3 has sold FIFTY million copies since 2015, crossing console generations. CD Projekt Red (CDPR) is creating an editor that allows creators to mod existing quests and stories as well as producing original content.

And one quick aside for the dark side of UGC-fication. Roblox is being sued by parents who are alleging that some experiences on Roblox are used to groom children and host sexual content. Children (allegedly) were propositioned for sexual acts and received sexual messages. This is the 2nd class action suit as earlier this year Roblox was hit with allegations of child gambling.

I'm a proponent of UGC-fication but we're going to need better policy and policing in place to safeguard players. Fortnite's move to get user-ratings for their islands is probably the right direction.

That's it for today folks. Catch y'all tmrw.

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Mobile marketing budgets have dropped 20%, says AppsFlyer | MobileGamer.biz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Circana: The American gaming market in October 2023 fell by 5% | GameDev Reports

GameSquare Q3 results show FaZe acquisition fills funding gap | GamesBeat

DDM: Gaming M&A activity hit $6bn during Q3 | GamesIndustry.biz

Game Changers Episode 4: Holly Liu - Kabam | Konvoy Ventures

Newzoo lowers 2023 games market value forecast to $184bn | GamesIndustry.biz

Mobile marketing budgets have dropped 20%, says AppsFlyer | MobileGamer.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The political economy of games journalism: Interview with David Nieborg | Unboxing


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Parents sue Roblox for allegedly hosting child grooming, sexual content | GameDeveloper


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
PancakeSwap Launches Crypto Gaming Hub—And You Can Earn CAKE | Decrypt.gg


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Exciting News: ASA Advertising Unleashes More Inventory without Price Increase, Plus App Top Chart Now Free | Social Peta

11 tips for killer User Acquisition ops | Brutally Honest

The evolution of user acquisition in 2023 part two | PGBiz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Bezi raises $13M to enable user-generated and collaborative 3D design | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
CD Projekt is working on a mod editor for The Witcher 3 | GameDeveloper

Supercell opens up Creator Program to up-and-coming influencers | PGBiz

-----

Drop gg!

For those who build, invest, and play – remember, every game is a story waiting to be told and an adventure waiting to be had.

WAGME #27 — Shardbound raises $5m led by Bitkraft, Ethxy announces $1.6m pre-seed round to build a Telegram-based MMORPG and Parallel announces that its Open Beta will be released on the Epic Games Store.

Drop a gg and show some love! ❤️💞

Look at Gaming #337 | 11.20.2023

GM! It's Monday. Welcome back to the week.

I want to spotlight this interesting project called Rooms, which recently launched on the App Store. It's a crossover between digital LEGOs, pinterest, and Roblox.

Users design their "rooms" with furniture, pets, tiny avatars, and more. These mini encapsulated rooms act as a form of self-expression. Though, what's unique is the form factor and UI/UX of the app.

Imagine a TikTok-like vertically-oriented UI with the infinite scrolling function. But as you scroll and marvel at these UGC rooms, you could actually click and interact with the room. Flip open a book, pull a chair back, pick up the cat.

This platform offers more than just doom scrolling UGC content, the users could mod and edit existing rooms using the Lua language (same language used in Roblox). So users could learn how to code then run their code to see objects "magically" appear in their rooms.

I've yet to see this form factor on UGC platforms. These types of platform shifts is always more powerful when you utilize platform native features (like for mobile it's infinite scrolling, vertical orientation, gyroscope, camera).

Go download the app and check out the UI/UX.

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

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Rooms, an interactive 3D space designer and ‘cozy game,’ arrives on the App Store | TechCrunch


🌊 MARKET 📞
How Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield wants to bring back the joy of card games | GamesBeat

Rooms, an interactive 3D space designer and ‘cozy game,’ arrives on the App Store | TechCrunch

Embracer's Q2 sales up 13%... but 900 employees are out | PGBiz

Layoffs, gaming at the Web Summit and Project Flagpole | GamesBeat

The ascent of Indian video game development | GameDeveloper

InvestGame: Gaming Market investment activity in Q3 2023 | InvestGame


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Gaming Journalism: How, What, and Impact with Jason Schreier and Neil Long | Naavik

Digital Building Blocks | Konvoy Ventures


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Champions Tactics Preview: Everything You Need to Know About Ubisoft's NFT Game | Decrypt.gg

These Are All the Solana Games on the Epic Games Store Right Now | Decrypt.gg


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Germany creates €100M subsidy to fund its game developers | GameDeveloper

Sleek raises $5M for Web3 social networking | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
PlayStation Portal has sold out two days after launch | GamesIndustry.biz

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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #338 | 11.22.2023

GM! Happy Early Thanksgivin' to all! Just a short one today.

Video games are larger than ever now. They keep getting larger still. But is there a limit?

GTA 6, Call of Duty, Zelda, Mario Bros., are just a selective few banner titles. Although 2023 has been the year with the highest number of games above the 90 metacritic score, the industry is shakey. Aside from the layoffs which could be a natural retraction of the gross expansion due to COVID, the games sector is unsustainable.

Triple AAA games are more complicated and more expensive than ever. Court documents revealed that it costs hundreds of millions for titles like Horizon Forbidden West. The Verge released the last episode of their miniseries on gaming. They talk about possible futures for four AAA games (Assassin's Creed, Madden, CoD, and GTA).

All eyes are on GTA as its a title that has changed the games industry many times before.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are indie games. I'd check out this piece by GamesIndustry.biz covering the indie scene at Xbox. For those that don't know ID@Xbox is an initiative focused on publishing/supporting indie games.

Then a last piece of reading is Deconstructor of Fun's Console Gaming's Triple Threat. I've mentioned before how I believe that handheld consoles is going to change the landscape yet again. So studying what consoles got right and how it'll be implemented on handhelds is an astute action to take.


That's all for today. Happy Turkey day and catch y'all soon.

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto VI, and the fate of AAA games | The Verge


🌊 MARKET 📞
Games VC funding down 68% YoY per PitchBook Q3 report | GamesBeat

China's game market to grow 5.2% this year | GamesIndustry.biz

Xsolla releases first ever State Of Play report, offering insight into the future of mobile games | PGBiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Are Embracer's struggles a sign of wider issues to come? | GamesIndustry.biz

Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto VI, and the fate of AAA games | The Verge

Console Gaming’s Triple Threat | Deconstructor of Fun


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Why Supercell rebooted its creator program | Mobilegamer.biz

The indie scene "is not going anywhere" on Xbox – as long as it can thrive | GamesIndustry.biz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Ubisoft's 'Champions Tactics' NFT Game Is Coming to Animoca's 'Mocaverse' | Decrypt.gg

State of Web3 With Game7 | Naavik


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
15 years later, Chet Faliszek dishes on the making of Left 4 Dead | GameDeveloper


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Saga raises $5M more in seed funding for Web3 protocol development | GamesBeat


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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #339 | 11.23.2023

GM! Happy Turkey Day!

We appreciate you and thank you for rocking with us.

So today I want to cover a research piece from SuperScale (mobile growth platform) that claims 83% of mobile games fail within 3 years and nearly half are cancelled during production. They interviewed 500 game devs in the UK and US to acquire these insights.

Only 4% of games hit peak revenue during their second year. This means that even though a game has a good initial roll out, continued success in year 2 is still extremely hard to achieve.

Despite these 80% of developers prefer working on new titles but a third of them feels like its too difficult to succeed.

In a blog post by SuperJoost (NYU professor and founder of NPD, a renowned data provider) said the layoff environment in games right now will lead us to mediocrity.

Platform fees are tough to renegotiate. Marketing is the lifeblood of the company. So headcount is usually the first line item that gets cut. So even if developers wanted to build new innovative titles, they won't have the capital to fund it nor the people to build it.

2023 has been a banner year for game releases — though it's a lot of the same. It's definitely things we like but it's also things we're used to liking.

I hope to see web3 gaming challenge some norms and push some boundaries on this front. Web3 founders have already chosen to play on hard mode so they're already furthest out on the risk curve. So let's go for gold.

Happy Holidays! Will catch y'all on Monday.

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Report: 83% of mobile games fail in the three years after launch | GamesIndustry.biz


🌊 MARKET 📞
What's the gaming M&A market like in 2023? | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Report: 83% of mobile games fail in the three years after launch | GamesIndustry.biz

A path to self-publishing | Brutally Honest

Best layoffs of the year | SuperJoost Playlist

The three conversion funnels of a digital product | MobileDevMemo

Podcast: Exploring the CTV advertising opportunity (with Peter Hamilton) | MobileDevMemo


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
GAM3 reveals shortlist for Web3 gaming awards with $2M prize pool | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
A case for building your own tech | GamesIndustry.biz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Game Studio Behind Matr1x Fire Raises $10 Million for NFT Mobile Shooter | Decrypt.gg

Layer AI raises $1.8m in funding | GamesIndustry.biz

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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #340 | 11.27.2023

GM! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. There were a ton of gaming sales all over so make sure to fill up those holiday bags.

Now back to your regular programming.

Today I want to talk about Pokemon. Typically, IPs have a hard time landing the transmedia leap. We've seen a lot of game films flops and films-turned-to-game losers. So that alone shows us how Amazing Pokemon is.

Pokemon was founded in 1996 by Satoshi Tajiri and earlier last month in 2023 we saw the first live-action TV series in Japan. Between the creation and the new show, Pokemon took myriad forms — such as anime and trading cards and from big cinematic films to triple AAA game titles.

Just think about that. There are probably 2 to 3 generations of childhood influences imbued into this one IP. Similar to the power of Disney, 90s babies grew up to be adults who loves the IP probably introduced it to their own children. Thus the cycle continues. A forever franchise.

But this didn't just happen. Game Freak (creator of Pokemon) had to rescue to the IP back in 2006. Sales were in decline and they were about to release their latest titles: Pokemon Pearl and Diamond. Up to this point, Pokemon has largely been an offline experience.

Game Freak created Pokemon Garden, an online Yahoo! Kids portal, which would be the equivalent of a "second screen" experience today. The online platform shared the history of Pokemon as well as a collection of mini games to drum up excitement for the game's release.

Jumping ahead another decade to 2016, and we have Pokemon GO. This was quite a unique departure from the company's norms since this would be a co-development with Niantics. Experiencing again with new technology such as AR, not to mention it also expanded the age demographic for the game.

There are more stories and notable events in Pokemon's history but you'll have to read the article in the Spotlight below for the full story!

Catch y'all tomorrow!

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Pokémon is no longer just a game — it’s a lifestyle | The Verge


🌊 MARKET 📞
Gabe Newell ordered to make in-person deposition for Valve v. Wolfire Games lawsuit | GamesIndustry.biz

Pokémon is no longer just a game — it’s a lifestyle | The Verge

Adjust and TikTok boast 220% iOS app conversion leap with SKAdNetwork 4 | PGBiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Savvy Games Group’s Ambition, Strategy, and Future | Naavik

Counter-Strike 2 Major in Asia | StreamHatchet


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Axie Infinity Starts Giving NFT Owners Commercial Rights as Official Merch Drops | Decrypt.gg

The long-term value proposition of Web3 games | GamesBeat

Ubisoft Is Bringing Rayman, 'Captain Laserhawk' NFT Avatars to The Sandbox | Decrypt.gg

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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #341 | 11.28.2023

GM. I'm normally bearish when big tech tries to "do" gaming. See Google's Stadia, Amazon's numerous attempts, TikTok reducing headcount in its gaming department.

Building games is a craft. Cultivating a community takes a lot of TLC.

But this YouTube news caught my interest. The world's largest video platform is releasing a collection of mini games called 'Playables' and we should pay attention.

These games don't require any registration or installation. It's natively available within the YouTube mobile app and desktop browser.

I'm bullish on these "instant games". Netflix offers a similar experience with their mobile applications. Meta released a beta version of their instant games platform this month.

But back to YouTube. I think these snackable Playables are a prelude. I normally have YouTube open while playing a game — it's the de facto second-screen venue for many gamers. Now offering games natively into the platform could allow YouTube to fully own the gamer's experience — shooting to transition from the secondary screen to the primary one.

In other news, we have a report showing that gaming technology applied in non-gaming industry is $1.6B. I think this is the market we should observe for traction around the "metaverse". For example, Unity is used by automotive manufacturers and architects for modeling purposes. Unity's Unreal was used to produce Disney's The Mandalorian.

Catch y'all tomorrow!

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
YouTube is getting into games, too | The Verge


🌊 MARKET 📞
East Asia Games Market Report | Niko Partners

UKIE: Video game technology was worth £1.3 billion in 2021 for non-gaming industries | GamesIndustry.biz

DDM: Gaming Investment Market in Q3 2023 | GameDev Reports


🌈 Platforms 🏠
YouTube is getting into games, too | The Verge

Eminem Fortnite Concert: Nostalgia For a New Generation | StreamHatchet


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Symbiogenesis' Launch Date Revealed as Square Enix Gives Out Free NFTs | Decrypt.gg


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
The five pillars of emergent gameplay | GamesIndustry.biz

Product Marketing Management for Games | Deconstructor of Fun


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Hololight raises $12M for XR streaming software | GamesBeat


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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #342 | 12.04.2023

GM frens. Apologies for the hiatus! Spent some extra time with the fam this holiday! But we're back to our regularly scheduled programming.

One Billion United States Dollars. That's how much Xbox spends per year to deliver us the amazing gaming catalog on Game Pass. And guess what, Game Pass actually makes money.

Phil Spencer is the boss at Xbox. He said in an interview that he doesn't care what games players play as long as their playing more and staying engaged. The subscription service provides both variety and consistency.

Quick research shows that there are 25M Xbox Game Pass subscribers in 2022 with $2.9B in revenue in 2021. What's more important though is the QUALITY of these types of revenue.

Not all revenues are treated equally. My finance professor would drill that into us. Subscription revenues, especially those that have a track record of high retention, are worth a lot more than one large lump sum revenue, especially if that one-time revenue is cyclical or seasonal.

This type of reliable revenue is highly beneficial to the company in two ways: (1) Wall Street / investors like the stock; (2) The company's finances are more predictable, making operations smoother.

In other news, Google and Apple announced the top games of the year (unsurprisingly, Honkai: Star Rail won BOTH). Fortnite hosted an Eminem concert, previously it had Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, and Marshmello.

Catch you guys tmrw!

-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Microsoft spending over $1 billion annually on third-party Xbox Game Pass titles | GameDeveloper


🌊 MARKET 📞
Apptica & Gamelight: The Mobile Market in Q3 2023 | GameDev Reports

Nintendo FY'24 Q1-Q2 Report: Numbers and insights | GameDev Reports


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
UEFN Studios: Boom, Bust, or Choose Roblox? | Naavik

Brawl Stars Championship Finals - Mobile Streaming | Stream Hatchet


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Microsoft spending over $1 billion annually on third-party Xbox Game Pass titles | GameDeveloper

Epic explains why it hasn't sued Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft over 30% fee | Epic vs Google | GamesIndustry.biz

Fortnite’s Eminem concert teased the future of the game | The Verge

Google Play reveals its Best of 2023 award winners | PGBiz

Apple unveils App Store Award winners. These are the best apps and games of 2023 | PGBiz


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Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #343 | 12.06.2023


GM! One of the many reasons I hear that web3 games is most greenest field in all of crypto is that there aren't any regulatory overhang.

But I don't think that's fully true.

GamesIndustry released an analysis piece discussing loot boxes in the current regulatory landscape. This is important to pay attention to since almost every video game has some loot-box-like components. But what are loot boxes?

According to the author, Loot box is any in-game purchase(s) with randomized elements that are bought with real-world money.

The easiest classification of loot boxes would be to consider them as gambling. Thus, existing laws are applied. Easy. Though there are other regulators that are deciding on different course of enforcement actions such as advocating for consumer protection laws, information disclosures, etc. Lastly, the simplest option is an outright ban, which is what Belgium decided to do.

The Netherlands followed suit and proposed a ban, still pending. Austria might consider it illegal gambling. Germany and Australia opted for an age rating decision, meaning games that have loot boxes would be rated for more mature audiences. Taiwan, Korea, Italy, Netherlands demands the probabilities and relevant information be publicly disclosed and accessible. But Netherlands does want the real money price of the item, even when the item is purchased with in-game currency.

In the UK, loot boxes have warning labels. The US and Canada are embroiled with class action lawsuits around this topic.

Given the global nature of crypto and web3, these jurisdictional tolerance and treatment of loot boxes must be navigated shrewdly.

In other news, we have we have a great blog post on revenue profiling by Brutally Honest and The Verge covered the final days of the Epic v Google trial. Fortnite is launching 3 new game experiences and GTA 6 trailer is out.

Catch y'all next time!


-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Loot box State of Play 2023: A global update on regulation | GamesIndustry.biz


🌊 MARKET 📞
A fortnight in Fortnite court | The Verge

The African games industry in numbers | GamesIndustry.biz

Loot box State of Play 2023: A global update on regulation | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The future of gaming: Social ecosystems that transcend platforms | GamesBeat

Ampere Analysis: Gaming subscription services in the Q3'23 | GameDev Reports

Apptica & Gamelight: The Mobile Market in Q3 2023 | GameDev Reports

Tile Busters: Leaving The Reddest Ocean To Find A Blue Spot | Deconstructor of Fun

Revenue Profiling | Brutally Honest

What does Epic's Big Bang mean for the future of Fortnite? | GameDiscoverCo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Fortnite is expanding its horizons with a Lego building game and a Rock Band successor | TechCrunch

PlayStation keeps reminding us why digital ownership sucks | The Verge

Discord rolls out mobile update in quest to become better messaging app | The Verge


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Notorious B.I.G. Immortalized in Ethereum Metaverse Game The Sandbox | Decrypt.gghttps://decrypt.co/208521/notorious-big-immortalized-ethereum-metaverse-game-sandbox

Amazon Prime Is Giving Out Free Card Packs for NFT Game 'Gods Unchained' | Decrypt.gg

Sky Mavis teams up with Foonie Magus to take Apeiron to Ronin network | GamesBeat


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Arcweave raises $850k to build AI-powered game creation tools | GamesBeat

Former Activision Blizzard CEO supports GameTree's $1.7M seed round for AI app to unite gamers | PGBiz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
GTA VI Game Trailer Analysis | Stream Hatchet

Supercell: "We need to make our games fucking famous, and become part of pop culture." | GameDev Reports


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Look at Gaming #344 | 12.08.2023

GM! Here's some weekend reads for you. We got A LOT lined up.

First, Epic launched a three new experiences this week. Outside of the standard Battle Royale and the Fortnite Islands, Epic Games hasn't innovated much on the core elements of the game. Now we know it's because of this latest release.

I want to highlight the LEGO experience. Fortnite is no stranger to collaborations but this is a whole different level. This is almost like the Minecraft vision realized. This is LEGOs in the metaverse. A survival-and-build game that will act as the building blocks for more things to come.

The choice of partnering with LEGO on this is genius on both the product and marketing front. The narrative for this joint venture taps into almost every gamers' inner child. The literal act of putting LEGO blocks together to build something fantastical as a solo experience or multiplayer play provides a cohesion of genre, narrative, and product.

Not to mention all of the cosmetics that a player has acquired over the numerous seasons of Fortnite is shared across all three of these new experiences. Like fr, how can anyone compete with Epic Games here.


WILD. THE METAVERSE IS HERE.

What do you buy? I guess that'd be Tencent. Haha. NFA. DYOR.

Aside from that, we also have the 2023 Games Award so go check out the line up and the categories. This has been a banner year so the competition is stiff.

<INSERT GTA MEME "Ah Sh** Here We Go Again">

The FTC is coming after the MSFT-ATVI deal again. This should be a wonderful waste of taxpayer money.

Lastly, there's a lot of great educational and learning opportunities with the reports in this post. Research on how PC players buying behavior, Do Alt App Store Really Unlock More Benefits, Digital Distribution & Monetization Strategy of Mobile Publishers. I'll be sure to be reading those this weekend.



-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Epic adds Lego mode to Fortnite, putting action behind metaverse talk | Axios


🌊 MARKET 📞
The Game Awards 2023: the biggest news, trailers, and announcements | The Verge

FTC appeals to block already-completed Microsoft-Activision deal | GamesIndustry.biz

GameStop posts lower sales, reduced losses | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
The joy of six | SuperJoost Playlist

Ultra & Atomik Research: How PC Gamers Discover and Purchase Games | GameDev Reports

Can You Unlock More and Spend Less by Going Around the App Stores? | LiftOff

Story: The first paid mount in WoW earned more than StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | GameDev Reports

Digital Distribution & Monetization Strategy | Niko Partners

With GTA 6 not due until 2025, what will drive games in 2024? | GamesIndustry.biz


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Bethesda relaunches paid mod store for Skyrim: Special Edition | GameDeveloper

Microsoft accelerates plans for Xbox mobile marketplace launch | PGBiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Merit Circle Brings Immutable zkEVM Into Beam Crypto Gaming Ecosystem | Decrypt.gg


💲 Fundraising 🤑
GameOn Technology changes its name to On as it raises $25M | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Scopely is spending big on Monopoly Go UA – as much as $1.5bn to date | MobileGamer.biz

Squid Game: The Challenge gets a second season — and a video game |The Verge


Drop a gg!
-----

Look at Gaming #345 | 12.11.2023

GM! Do all roads lead to gaming (for NFT PFP projects)?

Pudgy Penguins will launch Pudgy World in 2024.

This profile picture (PFP) NFT project was started in July 2021. There's been a lot of history happening between then and now. There was a some issues with the original owners, which led to a buyout, then recently there was a huge Pudgy Penguin toy rollout across 2000 Walmart stores.

After toys, I supposed the logical next step would be a game?

This order of operations of going from profile picture to merchandising then to gaming could be a playbook many adopt. What is commendable though is how Pudgy Penguins went with a physical product rollout first instead of a digital one, like many other projects.

I think that by taking such a large (and difficult) step first, the Pudgy Penguin team is crossing that chasm from being a web3 niche to mainstream acceptance. It was quite a strategic move to do the hard thing first which greatly reduce the perceived execution risk in their next venture.

In other news, there a lot of great games released or will be release soon. The Games Award is usually the platform that studios and publishers use to drop new trailers and this year was no different. I'm most looking forward to The Finals and Black Myth Wu Kong. I feel that Chinese mythology/tales are usually neglected in gaming so it's great that I get to immerse myself into an old favorite childhood tale.


-----

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Pudgy Penguins Reveal 'Pudgy World' NFT Game Rollout Plans | Decrypt.gg


🌊 MARKET 📞
The animated VTuber Ironmouse won Content Creator of the Year at the Game Awards | TechCrunch

Don’t worry. The Game Awards shows cool games are coming in 2024 | GamesBeat


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
data.ai: What awaits mobile games in 2024 | GameDev Reports

Newzoo: Comparison of Launches of EA Sports FC 24 and FIFA 23 | GameDev Reports

Unlocking Role-Play For The Masses | Konvoy Ventures


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Former DotEmu and Playdigious co-founder announces alternative app store finder, StoreRider


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Pudgy Penguins Reveal 'Pudgy World' NFT Game Rollout Plans | Decrypt.gg


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
What is animation in video games: Basic Principles & Applications | Kevuru Games


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Animoca Brands Boosts 'Mocaverse' Funding to $31.88 Million With Dapper, Polygon Onboard | Decrypt.gg


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
The Finals launches with destructive chaos like I’ve never seen before | The Verge


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Look at Gaming #346 | 12.13.2023


Epic week at Epic Games. The Fortnite creator took home the dub. The Jury decided in favor of Epic thus implicating Google for having an illegal monopoly.

Quick checklist of the claims:
[X] Google has a monopoly on Android App Store
[X] Google has monopoly on in-app payment processing
[X] Google practiced anticompetitive behaviors
[X] Epic Games was hurt because of the aforementioned points

Epic didn't ask for many monetary damages. Epic only wants the freedom to operate its own app store and own payment rails. Though that actually means ALL developers will have that freedom as well.

But we still don't know if the judge would grant that to Epic yet. So the movie ain't over.

Now would be a great time to read up on all the alternative app stores and out-of-app monetization methods.

In other news, Xbox thinking of adding an ad tier to its Game Pass subscription, Disney is stepping up its gaming ambitions, Bethesda opens up its mod marketplace. Oh and Fortnite's LEGO experience pulled in 2.4M players.

Catch y'all later!

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Epic win: Jury decides Google has illegal monopoly in app store fight | The Verge


🌊 MARKET 📞
Epic win: Jury decides Google has illegal monopoly in app store fight | The Verge

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney: the post-trial interview | The Verge

Exclusive: Disney "just starting" with ambitious gaming plans | Axios

Out-of-app monetisation outside of Google Play and the Apple App Store is on the rise | PGBiz

E3 is officially over forever | The Verge


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Money Trouble | SystemTalk

Which new games made the biggest splash at The Game Awards? | GameDiscoverCo

The 5 Characteristics of Successful (and Less Successful) Founders | Deconstructor of Fun

Epic v. Google | Game Changers


🌈 Platforms 🏠
The regulation is coming from inside the house! | TechCrunch

Xbox considering free (with ads) Game Pass tier | GameDeveloper

Bethesda relaunches paid mod store for Skyrim: Special Edition | GameDeveloper


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Gods Unchained Rated 'Adults Only' for Play-to-Earn Elements, Booted From Epic Games Store | Decrypt.gg

Oh Baby! Games launches Oh Baby Kart racing title in SpongeBob universe | GamesBeat


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Allstar raises $12M to scale gaming content creation platform | GamesBeat

Magma raises $5M for game art creation and project management platform | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Lego Fortnite’s debut builds momentum with 2.4M people playing at once | TechCrunch


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‼️ GAM3S.GG's Web3 Games Award Night 💥

🗣️ Thursday, 14 Dec at 3 PM UTC (10 AM ET) 🗣️

Go support Eliza + team from GAM3S.GG!

Grab some popcorn and tune in:

🟣 https://twitch.tv/GAM3Sgg
🔴 https://youtube.com/@GAM3Sgg
🔵 https://x.com/GAM3Sgg_

Look at Gaming #347 | 12.21.2023


GM! Happy Holidays everyone! This will be the last news headlines post for the year.

We're cooking ov'r here at tcl so stay toasty my frens.

Catch you in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣.

———

The top headline that caught my attention was that Overwolf, the premier modding platform, paid over $200M to creators in 2023, a 23% YoY growth.

What's more noteworthy is the payout growth — $29M in 2020 and nearly 7x to $200M by 2023. This speaks volume on how mod culture is commanding big bucks. There are 165k+ creators powering an ecosystem of 41M monthly active users.

Mods increases the re-playability and thus lengthens longevity of a game. In an ever-expensive UA landscape, being able to increase the Life-time Value (LTV) of a player is invaluable. From large renowned publishers to indie studios, everyone is aiming to turn their game IP into a platform. Mods will be even more prevalent in the future.

But how does the creator payout distribution look like? I've mentioned on a Twitter Space with PaladinsDAO that UGC takes on a super power law. Meaning that these "home-made" experiences vary drastically across the spectrum and usually have a very long tail distribution.

Overwolf's creator payout distribution looks like this:
$100>: 76000
$100+: 18000
$1000: 5600
$10k: 1400
$100k: 260
$300k: 92
$1M: 16
$3M: 4

Though the distribution of the whole gaming industry looks like this, it is way more prominent in the UGC space. Building games and fun experiences is tough even for the professionals so it's unsurprising the distribution is even worst in UGC.

Other readings that I liked this week is a blog post from Weiming (Games and Game Industry) about the Top 20 Gaming-Related IPs on Netflix and an article on how to conduct UA in Japan and Korea.

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of 2023!

🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎆

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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Overwolf pays $201M to in-game modders and creators in 2023 | GamesBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
Big publishers forced to innovate through M&A, says Daglow | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Top 20 Gaming-Related IPs on Netflix by Hours Watched - H1 2023 | Games and Games Industry

GTA VI Looks Great, but Online It’s the Real Topic (Opinion) | Deconstructor of Fun

Gaming is our Best Defense | Konvoy Ventures

mindGAME: Content drops ruled The Game Awards, not celebrities | GamesBeat


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Overwolf pays $201M to in-game modders and creators in 2023 | GamesBeat

Google to change app store's billing options post-antitrust suit | GameDeveloper


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Epic won’t ban blockchain games over adults-only ratings | The Verge

Ubisoft's 'Champions Tactics' Ethereum NFTs Generate Millions After Free Mint | Decrypt.gg

Immutable Debuts Passport Gaming Wallet in 'Gods Unchained' and More | Decrypt.gg

Gam3 reveals the best blockchain games of 2023 | GamesBeat



🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Game Developer's 2023 Wrap-Up: 10 Must-Read Deep Dives | GameDeveloper

Mobile Game Testing: Things You Need To Know | Kevuru Games

How to effectively implement social features into your LiveOps strategy | PGBiz

Game Developer's 2023 Wrap-Up: 10 Must-Read Featured Blogs | GameDeveloper

How to scale up your UA in Japan and Korea? | GameDeveloper


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Farcana Raises $10 Million for NFT Esports Shooter That Pays Out Bitcoin | Decrypt.gg

Social Giant Line Raises $140 Million for NFT Push, 'Brown and Friends' Games | Decrypt.gg
https://decrypt.co/209736/social-giant-line-raises-140-million-nft-push-brown-friends-games

Barnyard Games raises $3.4m in seed round to make games for Fortnite | PGBiz
https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/83070/barnyard-games-raises-34m-in-seed-round-ready-for-mega-golf-fun-zone-on-fortnite/

Hot Five: MyGamez raises $1.6m, Peak soft launches Star Match, and Monster Hunter Now hits $100m | PGBiz
https://www.pocketgamer.biz/feature/83068/hot-five-mygames-investment-star-match-monster-hunter-now/


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Look at Gaming #348 | 1.8.2024

GM and Happy New Year! This is the first edition of your daily newsletter for 2024.

There were a ton of new subscribers so here's the tldr on what we do here everyday. We will deliver you the best curated and aggregated news feed across the whole gaming industry (web2 and web3). Additionally, I'll also provide some short thoughts and analysis on key headlines.

This channel will be more web2 centric (check out our web3 channel for REAL-TIME actionable alpha).

Kicking off the year, I think this new integration between Walmart and Unity is quite interdasting. The Unity SDK will offer a real-world purchase API that will deliver IRL goods to you via Walmart. Why settle for just digital merchandise when you could get the real thing too.

The transaction will occur in game. This means that Unity will also provide a payment processing capabilities to allow the players to remain immersed in the game while successfully conducting a purchase. Immersion Commerce aka Immerce. You heard it here first.

This unlocks a whole new world for merchandising. In-game cosmetics would be turned into merch — probably leads to higher user spend since there's more value provided. Furthermore, I think this ecommerce element could be a new social layer. Imagine being able to send gifts to an online crush or to send some bandaids to a player you just completely dominated in a fighting game.

A few other headlines that caught my eyes were Netflix possibly adding an ad network to their mobile games, Nexon getting fined for deceptive practices, and a coverage piece on Fortnite's LEGO experience.

That's it for the first edition! I'll catch y'all tomorrow.


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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
"Nice in-game outfit - I'll take it!" Walmart and Unity team up for new in-app purchase API | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Video Game Insights: State of the PC games (Steam) market in 2023 | GameDev Reports

Tencent is now spending over HK$1 billion A DAY on its own shares | PGBiz

The top grossing mobile game publishers of 2023 | Mobilegamer.biz

Streaming Superstars of 2023: The Year's Top 10 Female Creators | Stream Hatchet

SteamDB: In 2023, 14,533 games were released on Steam | GameDev Reports

Visual Capitalist: 50 Years of Video Game Revenue | GameDev Reports

Top Games In Live-Streaming: December 2023 | Stream Hatchet

Nexon’s CEO on Leaving a Legacy, Fostering Talent, & AI in Games | Naavik


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
MarketWire x Pixels & Profits | Roblox Domination: #1 Downloads and #1 Revenue | GameMakers

A Shifting Esports Landscape | Konvoy Ventures


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Netflix considers adding in-app purchases and ads to games, report says | TechCrunch

"Nice in-game outfit - I'll take it!" Walmart and Unity team up for new in-app purchase API | PGBiz

Antitrust regulator hits Nexon Korea with record fine for deceptive practices | PGBiz

Why Fortnite is getting into cozy gaming | TechCrunch


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Ready Player One author and Futureverse team up for Readyverse Studios metaverse | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Getting the most out of a games incubator | GamesIndustry.biz

Master How To Make A Game Design Document | Kevuru Games


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Look at Gaming #349 | 1.9.2024

GM! Today we're going to to take a trip to East Asia.

Niko Partners published a report indicating that the East Asia (Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea) games market is worth nearly $30B in 2023. With just 108M gamers, this region is home to one of the highest paying players in the world.

Japan is the third-largest video game market, which contributed 60%+ of all games revenue for this region. It is also home to 50% of the total gamers in the region. Though Korean players are dominating in the PC market in terms of both revenue and number of gamers.

Approximately half of these Korean gamers spend their gaming time in PC bangs (internet cafes). Unlike other countries, esports-related titles like League performs extraordinarily well in Korea —maybe because esports was practically invented there.

In other news, we see that Marvel Snap creators raised $100M, Unity removed 1800 jobs, Bytedace is selling its game assets to Tencent, and Sony is doubling down on its transmedia push after big successes like Twisted Metal and The Last of Us. There's going to be a God of War and Horizons Forbidden West series — I'm psyched for this.

Shoutout to the fellas (JACL from Delphi and Alex from Shima) on their Doubl3Tap podcast! They had the one and only Aiko from Folius on the pod. We're big fans of these folks so be sure to check them out.


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⚡ Spotlight 🤩
East Asia gaming markets target $30.8 billion mark by 2027 | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
East Asia gaming markets target $30.8 billion mark by 2027 | PGBiz

ByteDance discussing game asset sale with Tencent | GameDeveloper

Unity is cutting 1,800 jobs in the name of "profitable growth" | GameDeveloper


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Just how big have PC & console game catalogs got? | The GameDiscover Co

Clash Mini Faces the Make it or Break it Moment | Deconstructor of Fun


🌈 Platforms 🏠
AppsFlyer launches AI-based creative optimization for marketing campaigns | GamesBeat

Sony doubled down on game TV and film adaptations at CES 2024 | GamesBeat


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
The State of Web3 Trading Card Games | Naavik

Ep 003 - Aiko (Folius Ventures) | Doubl3Tap

Bitcoin Devs Preserve Classic Nintendo Games With Ordinals | Decrypt.gg


💲 Fundraising 🤑
ArenaX Labs raises $6M to develop AI-powered games | GamesBeat

Second Dinner raises $100m in Series B funding round | GamesIndustry.biz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Aromajoin unveils scent-based XR devices at CES 2024 | GamesBeat

Apple's $3,500 Vision Pro VR Headset Launches Next Month | GameInformer


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Drop a gg!

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.



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⚡ 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!