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Look at Gaming #373 | 2.27.2024 GM! Hope everyone had a great weekend. ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 How the structure of the game industry is changing | GamesBeat 🌊 MARKET 📞 Suicide Squad failed to meet Warner expectations | GamesIndustry.biz Master Mobile App Marketing With Our 2024 Mobile App Trends Report! | AppLovin Peter Levin joins Realm board to adapt gaming IP into podcasts | GamesBeat Circana: The US gaming market in January 2024 grew by 15% | GameDev Reports How the structure of the game industry is changing | GamesBeat 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Anime ($31b) is Underutilized in Gaming | Konvoy How to find opportunities in the kids game market | GamesBeat How Coda envisions growth for alternative web shops | GamesBeat Where is the console hardware market headed? | GamesIndustry.biz 🌈 Platforms 🏠 Inside Apple Arcade: axed games, declining payouts, disillusioned studios – and an uncertain future | MobileGamer.biz ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 Limitations and Solutions to Blockchain Gaming | Gam3s.gg Circle Joins Overdare to Add IP Trading, USDC Payouts to Metaverse Gaming Platform | Decrypt.gg ‘We're Promising Nothing’: Telegram Game Notcoin Has 25 Million Players and a Soon-to-be-Real Token | Decrypt.gg 🧠 Knowledge Hub 📚 Four ways to build better indie marketing campaigns | GamesIndustry.biz Building a Feedback Machine | Konvoy Ventures What game marketers need to know about driving user acquisition through ad campaigns | PGBiz Creative framework: How to win in 2024? | Brutally Honest How to be a great product manager | GameMakers 💲 Fundraising 🤑 Web3 Infrastructure provider Avail raises $27M seed round | GamesBeat 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 Nintendo fans might be waiting at least a year for the next Switch console | The Verge ----- Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #372 | 2.23.2024 GM! Happy Friday y'all. Gaming VC funds are increasingly partnering with content creators to gain strategic advantages in evaluating potential investments. As the gaming market becomes more competitive, with thousands of games being launched each year, VC funds are leveraging creators' taste-making abilities and unique insights into player tastes and the content landscape. By teaming up with creators, VC funds aim to increase their chances of identifying early and successful investments. Creators also help games get their initial distribution and bring credibility to startups through the backing of influential creators. Additionally, creators benefit from diversifying their income and supporting developers and games they believe in. Overall, the collaboration between VC funds and creators is seen as mutually beneficial, helping to drive value to the most promising prospects in the gaming industry amidst a challenging funding landscape. Lastly, founders/entrepreneurs get the benefits from the financial and business-building expertise of VCs while also leveraging the distribution of content creators. ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 VCs team up with creators amid games funding pullback | GamesBeat 🌊 MARKET 📞 Indonesian election & New Game Industry Regulation | Niko Partners DDM: Gaming M&A activity reached $76.7bn in 2023 | GamesIndustry.biz VCs team up with creators amid games funding pullback | GamesBeat 🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘 The graveyard of features in games: when stuff that seemed promising just doesn’t work | GameDeveloper Designing maps that complement game mechanics | GameDeveloper 💲 Fundraising 🤑 XPLA secures funding from Play Ventures to foster Web3 innovation | PGBiz ----- Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #371 | 2.22.2024 GM! A new report from Apptica was released covering the mobile gaming market. Here are some stats that stood out to me: • The installs ratio between iOS and Android is 6B:51B — Android install is 8x • The revenue ratio between iOS and Android is $35B:$20B — Android rev is 0.6x • iOS beats Android retention by 7% on avg • Avg D1 retention is 32% and D30 is 6.6% • 53% of of advertisers in the mobile gaming market are... gaming studios. It never fails to surprise me the disparity between the number of installs on Android vs. iOS. I think this gap is going to keep widening. iOS installs has always been worth/costs a lot more than those on Android and we see why with both the spending and retention metrics on iOS. In the report, you can see retention across the genre and iOS pretty much beats out Android in every genre. What's notable is that the genre mix and composition on Android and iOS are quite similar. It seems that players preference do not necessarily differ. The last metric regarding ads isn't new. Mobile game studios have always been the largest advertisers of mobile game ads. But this statistic has been declining. It's healthy to see exogenous brands and advertisers targeting gamers. That's it for today! Hope everyone has a good day. Also check out that Borderlands trailer with Kevin Hart and Jamie Lee Curtis and Jack Black. Gaming movies are on a revenge arc right now. ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Apptica: The State of the Mobile Gaming Market and Advertising in 2023 | GameDev Reports 🌊 MARKET 📞 Apptica: The State of the Mobile Gaming Market and Advertising in 2023 | GameDev Reports Top 5 Insights from the State of Mobile Gaming Report by data.ai | GameMakers “Hypercasual is definitely not dead” | PGBiz 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 What's behind Xbox’s platform (& subscriber) moves? | GameDiscoverCo 🌈 Platforms 🏠 The Borderlands Movie's First Trailer Looks As Ridiculous As The Games | GameInformer ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 Esports Giant Team Liquid Launching Fan Rewards Platform on Sui | Decrypt.gg Kakao's Metabora Joins Gaming Giants Ubisoft, Sega on Oasys Chain | Decrypt.gg 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 The Borderlands Movie's First Trailer Looks As Ridiculous As The Games | GameInformer Ubisoft launches first Invincible mobile game for the 21-year-old franchise | PGBiz ----- Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #370 | 2.21.2024 GM! This headline caught my eye today. Founded by ex-Blizzard devs, this intrepid studio is raising money from players to fund marketing cost. Frost Giant studios is a real-time strategy PC game developer. Frost Giant's motivation for going directly to the players stems from them not wanting to work with Publishers, who are cutting staff to prioritizes short-term profits while letting developers and players suffer long-term. This headline made me think of the play-to-airdrop meta, which is effectively UA. Web3 games give out tokens to users to play its game. But Frost Giant studios is flipping this model. Instead of giving out money, the studio is taking in $494 investment from players. Players can go to StartEngine website to check out the campaign and learn more details. The goal is to sell $5M worth of shares at $150M valuation. Previously, the company raised $35M. This isn't their first crowdfunding campaign; they've raised $2M via Kickstarter. Games raising money via crowdfunding is not novel but Frost Giant's explicitly saying its using the funds for marketing is. Juxtapose that against the web3 games giving tokens makes me wonder which model will be more sustainable. In other news, we have Pitchbook's investment sentiment analysis, Brutally Honest's discussion on LTVs, and CoD League team is suing ATVI for nearly $700M. Drop a gg! ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Frost Giant asks players to invest in studio | GamesIndustry.biz 🌊 MARKET 📞 Mobile game downloads fell for the first time ever in 2023, down to 88 billion | PGBiz PitchBook dives deep into gaming VC trends, predictions for 2024 | GamesBeat Call of Duty League team owner suing Activision Blizzard for $680 million | The Verge Com2Us escaped the red in 2023 despite "negative seasonality" | PGBiz Frost Giant asks players to invest in studio | GamesIndustry.biz 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Can advertisers rely on IP addresses? | MobileDevMemo Discussing LTVs | Brutally Honest Frame This | Decentralised.co Video game consoles are doomed… right? | GamesIndustry.biz 🌈 Platforms 🏠 Lady Gaga Is Coming To Fortnite | GameInformer 💲 Fundraising 🤑 GameCentric secures $1.5 million angel investment to fuel growth in MENA | PGBiz 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 Ubisoft launches Rainbow Six Smol, a roguelite exclusive to Netflix | GamesBeat ----- Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #369 | 2.20.2024 GM! We talked about Epic Games Strore yesterday so today it's only fitting to talk about Steam. Recall that Steam basically dominates the PC launcher market, holding onto approximately 75% market share. Unsurprisingly 14,000 new games were released on Steam last year, which was a 12% increase YoY. In addition to that there were 11.8M players who participated in the Steam Playtest program. Over 500 titles earned $3M in 2023 as reported in the Steam Annual Summary. This represents a 2x in game count from 2018. Steam is proud of this statistic as it represents more game studios are finding success on its platform. It was also a banner year on the player side. Steam hit the highest concurrent player count hit 33M for the first time in 2023. Steam sales are known in the industry as the time to scoop up titles. It's a huge revenue event for many studios and Steam — particularly the Steam Autumn Sale. There's been an average of about 20% increase in sales in 2023 versus 2022. Steam is a mainstay in the industry, even though the platform charges 30% fees. Though with the change in the climate these days, that 30% take rate could be reduced. Epic Games Store charges 12%, for example. There was also another headline about investor sentiment on the industry that I found interesting. Hope everyone has a good day! ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Over 500 titles earned more than $3 million on Steam in 2023 | GameDeveloper 🌊 MARKET 📞 Investors on the state of video games: "We are investing, but the bar is so much higher" | GamesIndustry.biz 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Doing the hard thing | GameMakers The Uncomfortably Comfortable Supercell Talk | Deconstructor of Fun 🌈 Platforms 🏠 Over 500 titles earned more than $3 million on Steam in 2023 | GameDeveloper ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 Yuga Labs acquires Proof Web3 digital art platform | GamesBeat ----- Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #368 | 2.19.2024 GM! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. There are few options to distribute PC games outside of Valve's Steam. The next best option would be the Epic Games Store. Epic Games published their Epic Games Store 2023 Year in Review post detailing some statistics for the PC store and confirming its iOS store launch. $950M generated in 2023. Even though EGS is a multi-publisher game store, Epic's first-party games accounted for 67% of all sales. 270M+ total PC customers with a MAU of 75M. There are over 2900 titles available. Epic also gave away $2k worth of free games on their platform. In 2024, the company aims to improve game discovery and player experience. • Social Improvements • Offline Mode • Subscription Support • iOS store in Europe EGS may accounts for 10-15% of the market share so it's drastically smaller than Steam's 75% but games shouldn't fade this platform. Epic has great programs such as the Epic First Run which lets devs keep 100% of revenue for first 6 months if they publish exclusively with EGS. Epic would also feature this game all over the store. Another reason why, EGS should be considered is that the fees are only 12% versus Valve's 30%. In other news, check out InvestGame's report on game investment in 2023, Konvoy Venture's analysis of the Epic x Disney deal, and SuperJoost's thoughts on the Xbox multi-platform strategy. ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Epic Games Store sees $950 million in PC game sales over 2023 | GamesIndustry.biz 🌊 MARKET 📞 InvestGame: Gaming Investments in 2023 | InvestGame Optic Texas CEO and player sue Activision alleging Call of Duty League monopoly | GamesIndustry.biz Epic Games Store sees $950 million in PC game sales over 2023 | GamesIndustry.biz Embracer says 1,387 jobs and 29 games lost isn’t enough | GamesBeat Bandai Namco's Q3 revenue rose 3.9% to $5.1bn | GamesIndustry.biz 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Why is Google killing cookies? | MobileDevMemo Yin vs. Yang in work and life (Building Better Games) | GameMakers A Whole New ($1.5b) World: Epic + Disney | Konvoy Ventures Plus: which 'new in 2024' games are people still playing? | GameDiscoverCo Multiplatform Microsoft and a very different future for consoles | GamesIndustry.biz Xbox nothing burger | SuperJoost Playlist For Sony and Microsoft, revenue growth is more important than any "console war" | GamesIndustry.biz 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 Nintendo Switch 2 reportedly not launching until 2025 | GamesIndustry.biz Sony’s portable PlayStation Portal is back in stock | The Verge ----- Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #367 | 2.16.2024 GM! Wake up honey, OpenAI just released another mind-blowing technology. Sora is a video generating model. It takes in text prompts and outputs cinematographic marvels. In a research paper published by the OpenAI researchers titling "Video generation models as world simulators" showcases a clip of a Minecraft-like game with a full HUD from the player's POV. What's incredible is that the model didn't just visually create the digital world but it actually rendered and modeled the physics that would've existed in the real game. Just take a second and realize what that implies. These aren't just visual creations but actual depiction of game engine logic, in this case a physics engine. This leap forward in tech reminds me of the past. Recall ZZT by the legendary Tim Sweeney of Epic Games. The game was basically built in a word editor and players had to effectively write things into existence. With Sora, players can have world editing power via prompt engineering. So wild. What an age we live in! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 OpenAI’s Sora video-generating model can render video games, too | TechCrunch 🌊 MARKET 📞 OpenAI’s Sora video-generating model can render video games, too | TechCrunch Bandai Namco posts third quarter slump, despite early Tekken 8 success | GameDeveloper 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Introducing Darkpool Chart Explorer | MobileDevMemo 🌈 Platforms 🏠 Xbox wants to build a “gamer first” app store | Mobilegamer.biz Read Phil Spencer’s Microsoft memo on ‘Xbox everywhere’ | The Verge ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 Bitcoin, Ethereum Casino Shuffle Reveals SHFL Airdrop Plans | Decrypt.gg ----- Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #366 | 2.15.2024 GM! IPs make the world go round. $16B in in-game purchases for mobile games based on IP. What's interesting is that manga/anime-related IP generated $2B vs. Sports at $1B. This marks a pretty significant shift in player preference. More interestingly the genres that depended on IP the most are Geoleocation-based games (95%), Sports (37%), and RPG (30%). In Asia, we see that 67% of all video games are IP-related, whereas in the US it's 43% with board game-related IPs and cartoon IPs making up 25%. European gamers are split in the middle with 50%. This shows that Asian markets prefer IP-related games so to compete studios need to either license or acquire IP to put into their games. Even IP collaboration events produce positive revenue results for games like Goddess of Victory: Nikke. Surprisingly though, IP collaborations such as those in Roblox do not improve revenue. There were four IP events that included Cirque du Soleil, BLACKPINK, Takeshi's Castle, and Paris Hilton. Roblox's demographic skews US so this indicates US gamers don't care. In other news, there's a lot of discussion about the impact Xbox-exclusives could have on PlayStation as well as a few earnings reports Embracer (up big), Supercell (down), and Ubisoft (down bad). ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 IP in Games Landscape Report | Sensor Tower 🌊 MARKET 📞 Embracer sees record $1.2 billion in Q3 earnings after axeing 1,400 staff | PGBiz Only 7% of Ubisoft’s net bookings are from mobile, down 28% YoY | PGBiz Supercell revenue drops 4.2% to €1.7bn in 2023 | GamesIndustry.biz Games VC funding reaches new plateau after 72% YoY decline | PitchBook 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Could PlayStation benefit from Xbox games going multiplatform? | GamesBeat Gaming's Growth Quality: Dollars or Dollars per Dollar? | Games & Games Industry What Sony’s results mean for PlayStation’s future! | GameDiscoverCo IP in Games Landscape Report | Sensor Tower Digital Advertising, Demand Routing, and the Millionaires’ Mall | MobileDevMemo 🌈 Platforms 🏠 It’s time for Microsoft to build an Xbox Steam Deck | The Verge ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 Avalanche App Battle.tech Brings SocialFi to Gaming With 'Player Passes' | Decrypt.gg Stardust teams with Sui blockchain to simplify Web3 gaming onboarding | GamesBeat 💲 Fundraising 🤑 Overworld raises $10M to create anime-inspired free-to-play ARPG | GamesBeat 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 True Source unveils AI LLM service based on The Wheel of Time | GamesBeat -----

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Feb 14 💎 Gaming Spotlight 🥜 • Tatsumeeko is distributing access codes starting today for their Web event, Uncharted Dreams — See More 🔄 Gaming Updates • Gangster Arena — GODFATHER List Phase 1 Registration • Gods Unchained — Released 2024 Roadmap • Metagravity — Edge of Chaos Vanguard Playtest • Persona — Minting on XTerio next week • Forgotten Playland — Released $FP IDO Details • Illuvium — Launching Overworld in Q2 • Sparkadia — Announced their rebrand to Opti Games • Skyborne Legacy — Gameplay first look into Skyborne Phoenix Flight on Feb 16 • SoRare — Launched Daily Missions • Domi Online — Launching Open Alpha soon • Mon Protocol — Released $MON Community Pre-Sale Details • Dark Machine — Released premint form 🔖 Gaming Reads • Jihoz — Axie is the #1 NFT IP by revenue & #1 gaming token by earnings ▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens • Game Craft — Independent Intervention (Explores idea of indie game development and where new indie devs are. Hint: Roblox/UEFN/Fortnite Creative) • Blockchain Gaming World — Telling the tale of Nine Chronicles M 💸 Gaming Fundraising • Ultiverse — Raised $4m strategic round at $150m valuation 🆕 Gaming Projects • Oh Baby Party • Enchanted Isles • Stackset hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

Look at Gaming #365 | 2.14.2024 GM! Hope everybody had an amazing break for Lunar New Year. Today I want to talk about arguably the second largest gaming company in the world: Microsoft. Microsoft is facing challenges in the gaming industry, with lower sales of Xbox Series S and X compared to Sony's PlayStation 5 and a slowdown in Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. To address this, Microsoft plans to release some Xbox-exclusive games on rival consoles. This move aims to increase the reach of Xbox games and generate more revenue. Some titles that are being considered are Hi-Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves and even some Bethesda titles like Starfield. This is a HUGE change in strategy. Locking players into console ecosystems has been the strategy since the origin of Xbox. Now as Microsoft amassed world-class IPs from renowned studios, it's going to start offering these IPs on other consoles? Crazy. However, it also poses risks, especially as Microsoft seeks to maintain growth in Game Pass subscriptions and Xbox console sales. Additionally, there are rumors of new hardware projects, including a potential Xbox handheld. Game Pass, Xbox console, Xbox Handheld, and any other hardware Microsoft plans to release in the future will need a USP. Exclusive content is that USP but if players could access that content across a myriad of options then what's the point of getting an Xbox? There are few examples of PlayStation exclusives going on Xbox. These include Death Stranding, Hellblade, and two others that I was able to find. There's a reason why PlayStation keeps its exclusives exclusive. There are a ton of headlines as I'm trying to catch you up after the long (much-needed) break! ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Microsoft prepares to take Xbox everywhere | The Verge 🌊 MARKET 📞 Games corporate and VC funding falls 75% to $2.7B in 2023 | InvestGame Twitch viewership tops 1.9B in January thanks to esports, Palword | StreamElements “The mobile games industry has become stuck in the mud”: Apple’s war for its 30% revenue share | PGBiz Mobile revenue exceeds Take-Two’s expectations, making over $2 billion in nine months | PGBiz With Disney’s magic, Fortnite is poised to win the metaverse | TechCrunch 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 🦉 The army you have | GameMakers How to test creatives | Brutally Honest #99 Which games hit big in Steam's February Next Fest? | GameDiscoverCo Dear Publishers, Ownership Matters | GameDeveloper Xsolla releases a new winter 2024 edition of the State Of Play report | PGBiz Brawl Stars, to the moon! | Deconstructor of Fun GameDiscoverCo: Where Steam and PlayStation audiences are in 2024 | GameDev Reports 🌈 Platforms 🏠 Microsoft prepares to take Xbox everywhere | The Verge ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 You Can Now Earn Crypto by Playing Solana Game 'Aurory' on Epic Games Store | Decrypt.gg Why Crypto Game Pixels Is Launching a Token: 'Now the Fun Starts' | Decrypt.gg Why Treasure Is Building ‘Infinity Chains’ on Arbitrum to Power Ethereum Games | Decrypt.gg Gaming Blockchain Oasys Links With Korean Firm, Driving OAS To All-Time High | Decrypt.gg Forge launches first season to reward gamers for game achievements | GamesBeat 🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘 How Long Does It Take To Make A Game? | Kevuru Games 💲 Fundraising 🤑 Cambridge Mechatronics raises $40M for smartphone imaging tech | GamesBeat Gaming veteran Chris Heatherly raises $3 million for new game venture | PGBiz 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 Real-World Pokédex Can ID Pokémon On Sight, Thanks to ChatGPT | Decrypt.gg Why did players pick Helldivers 2 over Suicide Squad? | GamesBeat The soft launch games you need to know about | Mobilegamer.biz ---- DRop a gg!

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Feb 13 💎 Gaming Spotlight 🥜 • MON Protocol unveiled their tokenomics which seem to have been well received by the public as over 65% of the token supply will be allocated towards the community with NFT holders also receiving an airdrop. They also dove into the envisioned utility of the $MON token and highlighted that during the TGE, 6% of the circulating supply will all be community-owned — See More 🔄 Gaming Updates • Terracon Quest — Announced their 4 Player Fully On-Chain Deathmatch Strategy Minigame, Terracon Hex Quest that will be built using Dojo on Starknet • Run Legends — Run to my heart event until Feb 26 • Pixelmon — Will launch their Battle Arena on Immutable zkEVM • Unioverse — Giving away an unreleased Bike Blank for Hedron-One game mode testers • Treasure DAO — Released TIP-36 community proposal discussing ecosystem selection for Treasure Chain • Aurory — Seekers of Tokane is now live on the Epic Games Store • ARBO — Released pre-registration form to their upcoming collectible tactics game, ARBO Arena Tactics • Decentral Games — Extended beta for Pocket Casino • DOGAMI — Announced that DOGAMI Academy is coming soon to both Google & Apple Play Stores • The Machines Arena — Released Season 3 and announced that skins will be mintable on Ronin on Feb 29 • Wanderers — Introduced quests that when completed give keys, xp and achievements with keys being used to level up bundles for more RAM and closed beta codes • Forgotten Playland — Introduced their token $FP and announced its TGE on Feb 21 🔖 Gaming Reads • Andrew Chen (a16z) — Is VR/AR/spatial the next big computing platform? • Miles Deutscher — Ultimate Crypto Gaming Guide • Mike Lau — Treasure DAO is working on a co-authored Gaming Catalyst Program Proposal to earmark 100-200m $ARB to bolster gaming on Arbitrum ▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens • Blockchain Gaming World — Why Mythical Games adopted Polkadot 🆕 Gaming Projects • Inutan • Dice Dash • Alea • SOKAN Token 404 hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Feb 12 💎 Gaming Spotlight 🥜 • Off The Grid, a Cyberpunk F2P Battle Royale game by Gunzilla Games announced that their game is now available for wishlisting on the Xbox Game Store — See More 🔄 Gaming Updates • Tatsumeeko — Access codes to be distributed this week • AI Arena — Battle Arena Cycle 1 of 3 is running from Feb 12 - 16 • Aurory — Dracurve's Awakening event on Epic Games from Feb 13 - 26 • Vail VR — Launching on the Meta Store on Feb 15 • Apeiron — Released signup form for PvP Arena Mobile Testing • The Heist — Launched $KIWI Staking • Captain Tsubasa — Started developing on OASYS • Pirate Nation — Launched marketplace • Tribesters — Launching Social MMO, Keeper of Secrets in April 2024 • Crypto Unicorns — Added Unicorn Party Bingo • Gangster Arena — Introduced GODFATHER List • Haunted Space — Released new version to Genesis Pass holders 🔖 Gaming Reads • t11s (Paradigm) — Joined farcaster and may potentially give a preview of the game he is building with MUD v2 • Alex (Nansen) — Looking to connect with on-chain analysts interested in Web3 Gaming • Hitesh — Onchain Truth behind Web3 Gaming • Arto (Tribo Games) — Are there any single Web3 games • Luke (Pixels) — What to expect from Farm Land in Chapter 2 • Andrew Kang — Mechanism's investment into Heroes of Mavia • Kix — Predicting the life cycle of crypto games ▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens • WORLDS — Redefining Play: Innovation with Words3 and Draw.Tech from Small Brain Games • Web3 Gaming 2024 — New podcast from Derek Lau & Vader Research discussing NFT to Token Airdrop meta, NFT as GTM strategy to align influencer incentives and more 💸 Gaming Fundraising • Footium — Secured Arbitrum Grant • Hidden Street Capital — Announced their $1m investment into MapleStoryU • Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow — Raised $3m to develop casual party games 🆕 Gaming Projects • Oh Baby Kart 🏎 • PlayFi • Pinecore.xyz • Breath of Estova • Theras Labs hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

Look at Gaming #364 | 2.08.2024 GM! What a headline today. We must talk about Disney x Epic Games. So the owner of some of the world's most-renowned IPs just injected $1.5B into one of the era-defining games. $1.5B is obviously a big number but let's put it in context. In 2022, Epic Games was valued at $32B so assuming a flat round then Disney just got approximately 5% of Epic. This was probably a welcomed addition to the cap table as Tencent owns 40% of Epic. Disney spent $4B on Marvel (2009) and another $4B for Lucasfilm (Star Wars) in 2012. Epic Games might've been too large for Disney to fully acquire so they're starting with this 5% piece. But I don't think Disney is after the game engine because Unity Software is valued at $12.5B and Disney could've gotten 12% for what it paid Epic. Instead, I think the play is to tap into Epic Games' network of growing players (avg of 2M concurrent players and nearly 400M registered players). More importantly, Epic has integrated new game modes that includes UGC. This means the demographic — and thus the number — of players will continue to expand. There has been numerous IP crossover between Disney and Fortnite such as cosmetics/skins of Star Wars and Marvel characters as well as Disney utilizing the Unreal Engine for the development of some of their shows (The Mandalorian) and movies. One area of concern would be the UGC elements of Fortnite Islands. This was a large push for Epic and it is common knowledge that Disney is neither friendly nor fast and loose with their IPs. However this could be a tactic from Disney to regain control over the UGCfication of its IP. Roblox game makers are known offenders. When I was making games on Roblox, some of the most popular games featured Marvel or other popular IP. But this was all done without Disney's approval. So this joint initiative with Epic Games might just be a way to fight back. That's the biggest news today folks! It is Lunar New Year tomorrow so I will be taking off! Wishing you guys all a happy new year and the word for dragon in Chinese is "Long" so let's hope that sets the tone for the rest of the year! ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Disney is dropping a cool $1.5 billion to invest in Epic Games | GameDeveloper 🌊 MARKET 📞 Disney is dropping a cool $1.5 billion to invest in Epic Games | GameDeveloper Krafton earned record-breaking $1.4 billion in 2023 with 66% from mobile | PGBiz FTC claims Microsoft contradicted Activision acquisition following mass layoffs | GamesIndustry.biz Netmarble net loss down 65% in 2023 | PGBiz Roblox rises with $2.8 billion in revenue and 68 million DAUs in 2023 | PGBiz U.S. video game spending stagnated in 2023, totaling $57.2B | GamesBeat 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Powering Hello Kitty’s rise to the top flight of mobile | GamesIndustry.biz Brawl Stars Nuclear Explosion! | GameMakers Which countries played PC and console games... recently? | GameDiscoverCo Will Xbox publishing on rival consoles spark a Revolution? | GamesIndustry.biz ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 Nexon (MapleStory Universe) breaks up with Polygon | thecoreloop 💲 Fundraising 🤑 Digital Turbine teams up with ONE Store for app expansion | PGBiz Nitro Games raises €3.5m in agreement with Digital Extremes | GamesIndustry.biz ----- Drop a gg!

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Feb 6 to 7 💎 Spotlight 🥜 • Treasure DAO introduced their litepaper documenting their plan to build an end-to-end gaming ecosystem connected by $MAGIC, Infinity Chains — See More 🔄 Gaming Updates • Sky Strife — Launched Season 0.2 (Season Pass Minting Until March 1) • Decentral Games — Launched temporary community beta for Pocket Casino • AI Arena — Released GTArena Play-To-Airdrop Testnet Campaign • Champions Ascension — Opened Grand Bazaar allowing minting of off-chain gaming assets on-chain • The Heist — $KIWI token raffle on Thursday • Spellborne — Released Jan 2024 Development Update • OhBabyGames — Released Oh Baby Kart Beta 2 • Paradise Tycoon — Unveiled New Roadmap with token launch slated for June • Cyber Titans — Released v2.0.1 • Minters World — Released community letter documenting progress, strategic timeline until 2025 & future plans for Battle for Blockchain • Influence — Teased pre-release launch • Guild of Guardians — Announced whitepaper updates • Midnight Society — Announced 2024 roadmap update highlighting fewer major releases, planned community-created content, and an early access release on all platforms • BoomLand — Announced move to Immutable X • Axie Infinity — Released Project T Updates • Legends of the Mara — Announced Loot Minting 🔖 Gaming Reads • Peter (1kx) — Lessons & reflections from the 1kx's experience building on top of Downstream by Playmint • Buggleberry DAO — Guide to $MON • technoir (BITKRAFT) — Learnings from building a fully on-chain game using MUD & Dojo • Mike Lau (Treasure DAO) — What you need to know about TreasureDAO's Infinity Chains ▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens • Gamecraft — Ep. 11: Changing of the Guard (Evolution of "tools" businesses into bona fide platforms • Naavik — Parallel the $500m Web3 TCG 💸 Gaming Fundraising • Meme Kombat — Raised $8m+ hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Feb 6 to 7 💎 Spotlight 🥜 • Treasure DAO introduced their litepaper documenting their plan to build an end-to-end gaming ecosystem connected by $MAGIC, Infinity Chains — See More 🔄 Gaming Updates • Sky Strife — Launched Season 0.2 (Season Pass Minting Until March 1) • Decentral Games — Launched temporary community beta for Pocket Casino • AI Arena — Released GTArena Play-To-Airdrop Testnet Campaign • Champions Ascension — Opened Grand Bazaar allowing minting of off-chain gaming assets on-chain • The Heist — $KIWI token raffle on Thursday • Spellborne — Released Jan 2024 Development Update • OhBabyGames — Released Oh Baby Kart Beta 2 • Paradise Tycoon — Unveiled New Roadmap with token launch slated for June • Cyber Titans — Released v2.0.1 • Minters World — Released community letter documenting progress, strategic timeline until 2025 & future plans for Battle for Blockchain • Influence — Teased pre-release launch • Guild of Guardians — Announced whitepaper updates • Midnight Society — Announced 2024 roadmap update highlighting fewer major releases, planned community-created content, and an early access release on all platforms • BoomLand — Announced move to Immutable X • Axie Infinity — Released Project T Updates • Legends of the Mara — Announced Loot Minting 🔖 Gaming Reads • Peter (1kx) — Lessons & reflections from the 1kx's experience building on top of Downstream by Playmint • Buggleberry DAO — Guide to $MON • technoir (BITKRAFT) — Learnings from building a fully on-chain game using MUD & Dojo • Mike Lau (Treasure DAO) — What you need to know about TreasureDAO's Infinity Chains ▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens • Gamecraft — Ep. 11: Changing of the Guard (Evolution of "tools" businesses into bona fide platforms • Naavik — Parallel the $500m Web3 TCG 💸 Gaming Fundraising • Meme Kombat — Raised $8m+ hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

Look at Gaming #363 | 2.07.2024 GM! Hope everyone is having a great week so far! Happy Lunar New Year to all! Let's talk about game streaming today. Like most things, stream hours watched also follow a top heavy distribution with the Top-10 Games accounting for nearly 50% of total hours watched on Twitch. The top ten titles include 1. Grant Theft Auto V 2. LoL 3. Valorant 4. CS 2 5. Fortnite 6. Minecraft 7. Dota 2 8. WoW 9. Apex Legends 10. Escape from Karkov It's still surprising to me that GTA V, which is a 10+ year ol game, still holds the top spot. But its not the storymode that users are watching but rather the RP servers and other online plays. This was definitely NOT what the original vision of the game was about but RockStar figured it has to evolve with the new gameplay that players are desiring. More interestingly, there are only 3 games out of the top 10 that were founded in 2020+. And only 1 was released in 2023 (CS 2). Classics truly have a staying power in gaming. Imagine a movie that was created in the 2010s and 2000s still being in the top 10 most watched movies — impossible. That's why publishers, tech giants, and many other institutions are investing heavily into games over other mediums as for the possibility of owning a forever franchise at scale. In other news, we have Nintendo printing $2.7B and EA reached $2.36B in Q3. 73% of all gaming revenue comes from mobile, this is a high mark because it was closer to 50/25/25 across mobile, pc, and console. That's it for today. How's everyone doing so far in 2023? ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Top 500 games in streaming in 2023 | Lurkit 🌊 MARKET 📞 CVC Capital Partners is poised to acquire Jagex | GamesIndustry.biz IGN workers unionizing to fight for better wages and job stability | GameDeveloper EA reach $2.36 billion in Q3 earnings thanks to EA Sports FC | Pgbiz Nintendo profits rise to $2.7bn despite Switch sales slowdown | GamesIndustry.biz A huge 72% of 2023 game revenues came from mobile | PGBiz China approves 32 overseas licences including Nexon and Tencent’s Mobile DnF | PGBiz 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Top 500 games in streaming in 2023 | Lurkit Meta’s turnaround, and the opportunity and risks ahead | MobileDevMemo On Spatial Computing, Metaverse, the Terms Left Behind and Ideas Renewed | MatthewBall.co 🌈 Platforms 🏠 Report: Tencent wants to replicate Genshin Impact success with mobile version of Elden Ring | GameDeveloper ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 Parallel, the $500 Million Web3 TCG | Naavik 💲 Fundraising 🤑 Nitro Games receives further €3.5 million to continue Warframe mobile development | PGBiz Flaunt raises $1.8M for enterprise loyalty cloud for Roblox and Shopify Plus | GamesBeat 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 TEKKEN 8 takes 49% of All Hours Watched in Fighting Game Genre | StreamHatchet ----- Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #362 | 2.06.2024 GM! Let's go! Today, we’re diving into the world of mobile user acquisition. Here's the lay of the land between In-house Teams vs. Agencies vs. Publishers. In-house User Acquisition Teams • Offers autonomy and project familiarity, allowing developers like Playrix and Nexters to manage marketing internally without revenue sharing. • Developers with in-house teams benefit from intimate game knowledge, facilitating seamless collaboration between user acquisition and product enhancement. • However, upfront costs and resource allocation pose challenges, requiring substantial investment in personnel, tools, and communication channels. Performance Marketing Agencies • Leverage accumulated experience and specialized expertise to manage advertising campaigns for mobile game developers. • Costs commission fees and may lack deep immersion in individual projects. • Moreover, decision-making processes can be protracted, potentially hindering responsiveness to market dynamics. Mobile Game Publishers • Publishers provide comprehensive support, combining in-house immersion with agency-level expertise, including financing campaigns and navigating business development opportunities. • Involves revenue sharing and potential dependencies. Developers relinquish some control over their games and risk reputational damage if publishers’ actions are controversial. Catch y'all tomorrow! ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Are Live Game Shows the Future of Crypto Gaming? | Decrypt.gg 🌊 MARKET 📞 Phil Spencer Teases "Future Of Xbox" Event Next Week | GameInformer Tech industry is poised for comeback in 2024 | Deloitte Only half of developers saw a pay raise in 2023 | GameDeveloper Square Enix sales almost flat through first nine months of fiscal year | GamesIndustry.biz Which games were played the most in 2023? | PGBiz Japanese physical sales neared $3bn in 2023 | Japan Annual Report China at the forefront of mobile gaming as global market hits $85.76 billion | PGBiz The State of UGC Gaming in 2024 | Naavik 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 A look at Brawl Stars | Brutally Honest Making a successful video game Kickstarter in 2024 | GameDiscoverCo Fun, Unrestricted: Embracing Accessibility In Gaming | GameDeveloper The Audit of Our 2023 Predictions | Deconstructor of Fun Vision Pro's Developer Dilemma | Konvoy Ventures Survey: Live service games on the rise, but dev teams struggle to keep up | GameDeveloper What do developers think about the success of Palworld? | GameDeveloper 🌈 Platforms 🏠 Roblox breaks language barriers with AI-based real-time chat translation | GamesBeat ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 Solana Makes It Easier to Launch Crypto Games With Built-In NFT Shops | Decrypt.gg Are Live Game Shows the Future of Crypto Gaming? | Decrypt.gg Mythical Games settles case with Fenix Games, which lost its $150M in funding and founders | GamesBeat 🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘 An introduction to mobile user acquisition | GamesIndustry.biz 💲 Fundraising 🤑 StatusPro raises $20M to build an XR sports gaming empire | GamesBeat Eggspace Entertainment raises $4.25m in seed funding round | GamesIndustry.biz ——— Drop a gg! 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 Honkai: Star Rail hits 100M downloads, rolls out Apple Vision Pro support | GamesBeat Yu-Gi-Oh Early Days Collection Bundles The TCG's Earliest Video Games Into One Package | GameInformer ----- Drop a gg!

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Feb 5 💎 Spotlight 🥜 • Tatsumeeko unveils its teaser for their upcoming web event this February titled, Uncharted Dreams — See More 🔄 Gaming Updates • OhBabyGames — Closed Beta 2 on Feb 7 • Aurory — Announced their upcoming patch for Seekers of Tokane, Bloodstone • The Mystery Society — Launched Playtest Week 2 • Raini Studios — Released their February Ecosystem Update • Guild of Guardians — Released another wave of Pre-Registration (w/ Sign-up Bonus: 10 summoning stones) for their upcoming global launch • Paradise Tycoon — Joining the Seedify Incubation Program • Aavegotchi — Released access for Strategotchi (grid-based game) • Root Network — Gearing up for open beta (Network fees reduced by 67%) • Hychain — Node Key Sale date details will be announced in 2 weeks (Late Feb - Early March) • AOFVerse — Announced token snapshot and distribution details to Fortune NFT Key holders • Heroes of Mavia — Reached 1M global downloads on iOS and Android (~3.5 days since launching) 🔖 Gaming Reads • Bankless — The Bull Thesis for Starknet Gaming • Luke Barwikowski (Pixels Online) — Why Pixels is one of the largest Web3 games by DAU • Jonah Blake (RE3W) — The one thing holding back Web3 Gaming is the Sim Investor Problem • Hunter Solaire — The Gaming Meta ▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens • Naavik — The State of UGC Gaming in 2024 (Covers trends in Roblox, UEFN, etc) hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

👋 Web3 Gaming Recap — Jan 31 to Feb 2 🔄 Gaming Updates • Delabs Games — Disbands Rumble Racing Stars Team • Mixmob — Launches $MXM token & staking • Axie Infinity — Opens Community Onboarding Form • Hychain — Details for Node Key WL Sale • MON Protocol — Launches mission platform, points redeemable for $MON • Serum City — Released Web3 City Builder game • MATR1X Fire — $FIRE Withdrawals & Locked $FIRE Release: Feb 7) • AOFVerse — Public Statement on Token Launch & Airdrop Plans • Rumble Arcade — Shadowstrike playable from Feb 5 • CyberTitans — Releases 3rd Mobile Closed Alpha • WorldShards — Showcases sandbox MMORPG Trailer • Metalcore — Building on Immutable zkEVM • Yuga Labs — Announced Kodas game for H2 2024 • The Sprawl — Releasing 3.4k Genesis Vehicles • Battlebound — Highlighting Project A direction • OhBabyGames — Guilds coming in Closed Beta 2 • Marblex — Partnered with Saga to launch games 🔖 Gaming Reads • 0xkapital_k — MapleStory: Analysis of the gameplay, core loop & community layer • Jon Jordan — Why $MAVIA token launch (Feb 6) will be a health check for Web3 Gaming Sentiment • John Patten — Why Treasure Chain is next steps towards MAGIC becoming a universal metaverse money • Andrew Chen — Why Tutorials, Splash Screens & Lengthy Signup Flows are a bad idea • Sparkc — The Tatsumeeko Thesis • Andrew Chen — Incentives are a form of selection & need to make sure you know what you’re selecting for • Aiko — Analysis of MyShell Badge System • Kix.eth — Why we built Midnight Heist as a fully on-chain game • JACL — Fight for Player Liquidity • Will Price — TLDR of GG.zip • Sparkc — Why people are upset at AOFVerse ▶️ Gaming Watch/Listens • All Chat: Episode 4 — Games on Emerging Platforms (Covers Apple Vision Pro) • a16z Games — What can we learn from success of Palworld? • Gamecraft — Choose Your (ad)Venture: Nuances of Game Financing • Blockchain Gaming World — Bottom up rise of Pixels 💸 Gaming Fundraising • Pixelmon — Announced $8m seed round hope helpful wuwu 😆💞 — https://t.me/thecoreloopweb3

Look at Gaming #363 | 2.02.2024 GM! Happy Friday! Hope y'all have a great weekend. I got a question for you my dear readers: what was the last product that Apple released that wasn't a banger? I can't seem to come up with one contemporary example. If there were failures, then it was drowned out by the outstanding success of their other products. And I think the Apple Vision Pro may actually live up to our imaginations. There are 600 applications designed specifically for the Apple Vision Pro. Some of these products are reskin of their mobile/desktop version but some leans heavily into the unique features of this new device. One product that stood out to me immediately was the Lovense device. If you are bullish the metaverse, you need to pay attention to applications and devices that feeds into these humanly desires — and needs. My previous boss (who founded and invested in billion dollar+ companies) taught me that any product needs to serve at least one of these primal instincts: • Fear — Help alleviate the user's fear. • Pride — Make the user feel proud. • Time — Help the user save time. • Love — Help the user find love/feel loved. • Money — Help the user make money Good products cover one of these needs well, great products have three (or more). Lovense taps into Fear, Pride, Time, Love, and Money. I'll leave it up to your imagination about how. In other news, VR is hard and we see that with Meta spending nearly $5B in Q4 2023 so here's my attempt to steel man my own thinking. If one of the most successful company in the world is consistently putting up Ls in this vertical, maybe it is harder than just a few good apps. BUT I haven't ordered an Apple Vision Pro yet. Let me know if you would ape into my NFT collection for me to fund this purchase. Have a great weekend! ----- ⚡ Spotlight 🤩 Lovense unveils long-distance sex toy for Apple Vision Pro | GamesBeat 🌊 MARKET 📞 Konami raises forecasts as profits rise 53% to $427m | GamesIndustry.biz Xsolla issues State of Play report winter 2024 edition | GamesBeat Meta Reality Labs loses $4.65B in Q4 | GamesBeat Microsoft owes everyone more context for mass Xbox layoffs | GameDeveloper 💎 Deep Dives 🔎 Apple’s passive aggression | SuperJoost Playlist Meta Q4 2023 earnings: average revenue per impression flips to positive | MobileDevMemo AppsFlyer: Benchmark on Game uninstalls on Android in October-November 2023 | GameDev Reports ✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐 ‘Overwatch’ Esports League Bans Crypto, NFT, and AI Sponsors | Decrypt.gg 🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘 Transitioning from PC-only development to multiple platforms | GameDeveloper 💲 Fundraising 🤑 Eggscape Entertainment raises $4.25M for social gaming on mixed reality headsets | GamesBeat Pixelmon raises $8M as it seeks redemption for its ambitious Web3 games | GamesBeat 👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊 Lovense unveils long-distance sex toy for Apple Vision Pro | GamesBeat J. Crew, Mytheresa and e.l.f. brands launch Apple Vision Pro apps | GamesBeat ----- Drop a gg!