Scopely acquires GSN Games from Sony Pictures for US$1B

• Scopely announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire GSN Games from Sony Pictures Entertainment for US$1 billion
• Scopely is best known for its catalog of mobile games, including Wheel of Fortune: Free Play, The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, and Star Trek: Fleet Command, which it also recently launched on PC
• GSN Games has a similar collection of games, such as Solitaire TriPeaks and Bingo Bash
• GSN Games will add the aforementioned games to Scopely’s library

Embracer Group accquires Mobile game developer Jufeng Studio and 8 mobile titles

• Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”), through its wholly-owned subsidiary DECA Games, has acquired Gaea’s mobile studio Jufeng and its six titles
• Through the acquisition DECA Games gains access to a talent base in China, providing a foundation for further growth in the Asia Pacific Region
• DECA Games has also acquired 2 mobile titles, Hero Hunters and Killshot Bravo, from Hothead Games Inc
• The Jufeng Studio is a mobile studio founded 2015, based in Beijing and was previously owned by Gaea
• Jufeng currently comprise of a team of 50 people
• The six titles were originally developed and launched by other studios, later acquired and further developed by the Jufeng Studio
• The titles are strategy and RPG games for mobiles and include Castle Age, Underworld Empire, Elves vs Dwarves, Dragons of Atlantis, Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North, and Heroes of Camelot

Giant intends to acquire 72.81% of Taomee Group's ( Developer of Mole's World) equity in cash

• Taomee Group located in Shanghai and has famous Chinese IP such as Mole’s World and Seer
• Taomee Group has successively developed and operated dozens of game products based on its famous IP
• Taomi Group and Giant Networks are expected to achieve IP development, technology research and development, product operations and user resources, which will help to further expand Giant Networks’ business layout in the field of culture and entertainment
• Taomee Group is valued at RMB 1.5 billion(US$234 million)

Garena leads US$12 milllion round into Kazoo Games

• LA-based work-from-home startup Kazoo Games has closed its Series A funding round, raising US$12 million and Garena was the lead investor
• Setting out to build midcore casual games, Kazoo will use the investment to expand from its current 15 headcount to more than 30 developers

Tencent makes minority stake investment in Indonesia’s MD Pictures

• Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings has made a minority stake investment in Indonesian film production company MD Pictures, according to the latter’s filing with the Indonesia Stock Exchange
• MD Pictures has sold a stake under 15% to Tencent for around US$50 million
• The transaction is seen as Tencent’s entry into the Indonesian entertainment industry. The Chinese internet major, an active investor in the Indonesian tech space, has backed prominent startups including Gojek and GoTo, B2B e[1]commerce Ula, OnlinePajak, Bibit.id, among others

Square Enix to launch a new, mobile-focused London studio

• Square Enix announced today that it’s opening a new mobile-focused studio called Square Enix London Mobile
• The new studio will focus on two upcoming titles in the Tomb Raider and Avatar: The Last Airbender universes

China Roundup: Ant Group may not launch IPO before 2023

• The registration for Ant Group’s record US$35 billion initial public offering lapsed on Wednesday, and bankers are supposedly skeptical that the fintech giant will return to the public market before 2023
• The firm’s valuation estimates – which earlier soared as high as US$300 billion – have been trimmed by as much as two-thirds since its failed attempt at a stock market debut in late 2020
• Jack Ma Ma has traveled to Spain for a series of business meetings, which included a tour of the agricultural industry, and environmental tech in the country

Vietnam’s Tiki nears unicorn status after US$240m raise

• Vietnam-based ecommerce major Tiki has secured US$240 million in series E funding, according to data from VentureCap Insights
• This has boosted Tiki’s valuation to around US$832 million, making it one of the most valuable tech businesses in its home country
• Insurance major AIA appears to have invested the largest amount, contributing US$60 million to the total amount
• Other notable backers in the fundraise also include UBS AG London Branch, Taiwan Mobile, and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund

Timi open up first 3A game studio: Team Kaiju in North America

• Team Kaiju is the first independent studio that Timi opened in North America
• Based on the AAA quality of PC game, the studio is committed to creating one original IP shooting game for multiple platforms in the future
• The project is currently developed for more than one year, and the team members are mainly located in Seattle and Los Angeles. Team Kaiju will also co-develope with Timi's studio in China
• Team Kaiju is now a team of 20 staff working from home and located all around the world

Sensor Tower: Asia accounts for 55% of global mobile game revenue, and 80% of downloads come from Android devices

• Revenue

1. In H1 2021, nearly 55% of global mobile game spending came from the Asian market, of which Japan, China and South Korea are the three highest-revenue markets in Asia
2. In comparison, player spending in North America and Europe accounted for 30% and 12% of total player spending in the world, respectively
3. 92% of in-game purchase revenue in Asia still comes from games published by local mobile game publisher

• Downloads

1. Asia is also the region with the largest number of downloads of mobile games due to the rapid rise of Southeast Asian markets such as India and Indonesia
2. In H1 2021, Asian region brought nearly 8.9 billion downloads, accounting for 42% of the global downloads during the same period
3. Downloads in Asia region mainly comes from Android phones, which will reach 80% in H1 2021

• Genre & Theme

1. Among the top 1500 grossing mobile games in Asia in 2020, mid and hard core games have the highest proportion of downloads & revenue
2. Among them, RPG and strategy games are still the most popular game genre
3. Fantasy & Waifu games are the most popular themes in Asia

Newzoo: October 2021 Quarterly Games Market Data Update

• Newzoo’s October 2021 Quarterly Games Market Update is now available, Please check detailed PDF here or see attached exel
• 2021 Global Game Market Revenue

1. US$180.3 billion, a +1.4% YoY increase
2. This is up from Newzoo’s previous forecast of US$175.1 billion, which represented a slight YoY decline in the market (-1.1%)

• PC Games Revenue

1. US$36.7 billion in 2021
2. This is up from Newzoo’s previous forecast of US$35.9 billion but still representing a slight YoY decline (-0.8%)

• Mobile Game Revenue

1.  US$93.2 billion in 2021, representing strong YoY growth of +7.3%
2. This is up from Newzoo’s previous forecast of US$90.7 billion
3.  Newzoo still expect the impact of privacy shifts such as Apple’s changes on iOS to impact the market in the second half of 2021

• Console Games Revenue

1. US$50.4 billion in 2021
2. This is up from Newzoo’s prior US$49.2 billion forecast
3. The console segment will decline -6.6% YoY

• APAC Market

1. APAC will produce game revenues of US$90.0 billion in 2021 (up +5.1% from 2020)
2. This is higher than Newzoo’s previous forecast of $88.2 billion
3. One of the biggest contributors to this rise is a single mobile game mostly popular in a single market: CyberAgent’s Uma Musume Pretty Derby in Japan

• Top 25 Public Companies ranked by game revenues in H1 2021

1. Combined, the top 25 public companies generated revenues of US$76.7 billion in H1 2021, representing YoY growth of +11.4%
2. Tencent further solidified its #1 spot in H1 2021, thanks to the strong performance of Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile, and Clash of Clans—as well as its continued expansion out of China
3.  However, Tencent and NetEase alike will face challenges in the coming years due to stricter gaming regulations in their home market of China
4. SEA Limited had the biggest relative revenue jump  in  H1  2021,  entering  the  top  10  and  more  than  doubling  its  revenues YoY (+139.6%)

miHoYo's new product: Project X

• Project X is a new AAA FPS + RPG open world product which has been under of developing for more than 2 years
• Tencent, Lilith are also developing FPS products at the moment, such as Apex mobile and Lilith’s Farlight 84

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened gives NetEase its first Tencent-beater since 2016

•  Following its launch in September, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened has become the most successful game of 2021 in mainland China, reports Niko Partners
•  In both iOS game downloads and revenue charts, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened debuted at number one, holding these positions for seven subsequent days.
•  This is the first non-Tencent published game to reach this milestone in China since Onmyoji (another NetEase game) in 2016
•  Sensor Tower states that NetEase’s total mobile game revenue has increased 26% YoY and 38% MoM

Project M – Garena-backed Korean developer teases new PC + console with combat preview trailer

• Garena invested back in July into Korean developer Hound13, the studio formed by former Dragon Nest veterans and launched Hundred Soul as its first title
• Project M will be Hound13’s second title, and recently a preview trailer was shown teasing the game’s combat system
•  Originally thought to be a mobile title, Project M has since been confirmed for PC and consoles. Hound13 is currently working on the mysterious Project D as well

Axie Infinity stops low-level players from earning SLP tokens

•  Axie Infinity has unveiled a major update that affects players’ ability to earn smooth love potions (SLP), the in-game currency that users exchange for cash
•  Axie is implementing a rule that prevents users with a matchmaking ranking (MMR) below 800 from earning SLP tokens in the adventure, arena, or daily quest mode; MMR is a unit that indicates or measures player strength
•  According to a blockchain enthusiast, the move is aimed at ensuring those who get SLPs are active and competitive players
•  The Axie community seems divided over this change and raised questions about the game’s sustainability among users, particularly those who were attracted to its play-to-earn mechanism

Facebook reportedly rebranding around metaverse

•  Facebook is planning a corporate rebranding to encompass its aspirations for building a metaverse
•  New name is expected next week as social network's PR team braces for further reports on leaked documents
•  The goal is to effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company
•  Zuckerberg’s vision for the metaverse would use artificial and virtual reality technology to create a digital space, similar to the internet, in which people could use digital avatars to walk around a virtual world and interact with one another in real time
•  Many have accused the company of creating a new brand to sidestep the flurry of regulation and bad press it has received in recent years

 Epic welcomes blockchain and NFT games as Steam bans them

•  Epic Games has confirmed it is open to selling video games that use blockchain and NFTs through its store
•  Epic says titles will need to comply with financial laws and make it clear how blockchain is used, with more rules to follow

Sea, Temasek join $420m funding of crypto exchange major FTX

• FTX, a Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange, has raised US$420 million in a series B-1 funding round from Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Group’s investment arm Sea Capital etc
• The deal valued the company at US$25 billion
• Founded by Sam Bankman-Fried in 2018, FTX offers a trading platform for cryptocurrency and other assets such as prediction markets, options, and volatility products
• The company currently processes an average of US$14 billion worth of transactions per day

ByteDance founder now richest in China’s internet sector

• Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance, has been ranked by Forbes as China’s richest person in the internet sector
• Pony Ma and Jack Ma, founders of the country’s two largest internet conglomerates, Tencent and Alibaba, came after Zhang in the rankings for China. Both saw their net worth shrink significantly as Chinese tech companies faced regulatory crackdowns
• In the past six months, Pony Ma has lost over US$15 billion, pulling his net worth down by more than 20% to US$49.7 billion. Jack Ma also saw his fortunes tumble by nearly US$6 billion and drop to US$42.5 billion
• After China rolled out a slew of regulations targeting the internet giants, ByteDance downsized its operations in the edtech and finance sectors earlier this year, and its online gaming and commercialization business also had shake-ups recently
• Zhang Yiming’s net worth has increased by over 65% since April to reach US$59.4 billion. In May, Zhang issued an internal letter that announced he would step down as ByteDance’s CEO by the end of 2021

Mobile Sports Game NBA NOW 22 Officially Released in Indonesia

• New mobile basketball game 'NBA NOW 22' officially release in Indonesia this week, the game was published by Com2uS for AOS and IOS devices
• Players can control the ball and make a slamdunk easily with just one hand in this 3D realistic basketball game
• Other features are collecting basketball player's cards, build the team formations, and challenge other players around the world

New Mobile MMORPG 'Sprite Fantasia' Released in Indonesia

• Sprite Fantasia, another new mobile MMORPG just released this week in Indonesia and also other SEA region market, the game was published by X-Legend Entertainment for AOS and IOS devices
• The game have beatiful 3D gaphic and cute environment art-style, with 'Sprite' that would accompany players to explore the map
• Have game features that are almost similar to other cute MMORPG like exploring vast map, team up for boss raid, and character's wardrobe customizations

Cinematic Mobile RPG Ragnarok: The Lost Memories Begins Pre-Registration For SEA Region

• Ragnarok: The Lost Memories Hymn of The Valkyrie finally opens its pre-registration phase for Southeast Asia
• The game is described as a “Newtro cinematic retro mobile RPG” with the word Newtro meaning enjoying new and old trends as one
• The gameplay is described as watching a movie while playing the game shot by shot
• Ragnarok: The Lost Memories is set to launch in Southeast Asia which includes, Malaysia, Singapore, and The Philippines
•  Website
  

Phá Thiên Nhất Kiếm (SkyBlade) is opening for close beta test