IN THE LOOP with kapital k // W39 of 2023
The only gaming newsletter you need. I curate and aggregate content from across web2 & web3 to deliver it straight to your inbox.
Week 39 of 2023. Here are the top five headlines and fundraising announcements + a collection of content from independent creators that you missed this week!
Nintendo // No DLC for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — link
THOUGHTS: The Japanese game maker said it would NOT release any DLC for its latest hit: Zelda: TotK. This is definitely abnormal.
For example, the Mario Kart 8 was released in 2014 with 32 courses with an optional DLC for an additional 16 courses. Then in 2017 Nintendo re-released the game as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which includes the original 32 and the additional 16 courses all in one.
Surprisingly, Mario Kart 8 received its second DLC pack EIGHT YEARS later in 2022!
For Zelda: BotW, the game released in 2017 with two DLC packs released in the same year, but no additional DLC thereafter. Though, it was known that Zelda: TotK's development was set to begin immediately after BotW's release. Maybe that's why they didn't have anymore DLCs.
Regardless, the admission that there won't be any DLCs for this Zelda is an odd move.
Unity // 71% of The Top Mobile Games Use Unity SDK — link
THOUGHTS: With all the animus and disappointment in the air regarding Unity and its Runtime Fee, I wanted to highlight that 71% of the biggest mobile games use at least one Unity SDK.
SEVENTY ONE PERCENT
Over 50% of the mobile games on the Top 100 Grossing chart are built on Unity. These games account for $16B in yearly revenue, that's $400M in top line gross to Unity, assuming a Runtime Fee cap at 2.5%. Unity makes $1.8B/yr so this Runtime Fee is a substantial increase.
Meta // Owns All Four Top Ad Networks For Mobile Games — link
We had some news about Meta Connect yesterday and today we're going to keep with the theme. Did you know that Meta owns 4 ad networks for mobile. Granted that's also a reason why Apple's IDFA policy changes had a material impact on Meta's financials.
Per MobileAction's Mobile Ad Trends 2023 Report, here are the number of creatives per ad network on iOS:
- Facebook Native (163k)
- Instagram (161k)
- Facebook (160k)
- Facebook Messenger (159k)
- AdMob (49k)
- Unity (48k)
The ranking are similar for Google Play (Android). Meta is clearly magnitudes larger than its closest competitors. That's why I'm excited whenever I see new ad networks such as those on TikTok, Roblox, Prime Videos, Netflix, etc. Clearly we need more channels for UA.
Meta // Games Are A Big Part Of Meta Quest 3 — link
THOUGHTS: Above the fold is the Meta Connect event, which is Meta (Facebook) annual conference. They unveiled the Meta Quest 3 lineup and a ton of games are on the docket; we also saw Xbox cloud gaming as one of the offerings. The headset will be released on October 10th for $500 with 50 new games and 50 updated games from its catalog.
India // New Alternative App Store: PhonePe’s Indus Appstore — link
THOUGHTS: News and numbers around India has been flooding the TL. It started with Niko Partner's report on Indian markets worth nearly $900M. Earlier this year India allowed PUBG to reenter its market.
Today, I want to highlight the unique distribution dynamics in India. There are multiple number of alternative app stores such as Indus Appstore, Indus App Bazaar, mSeva, AndroBranch, and many more. Without a dominant leader such as Tencent or NetEase, the Indian market is comprised of fragmented developers all vying for users.
But using superapps are the norm in the India. These superapps could be classified as pseudo app stores too.
Why this is important? 96% of all Indian gamers play on mobile — practically all of the 450M indian gamers.
Don’t miss out on next week’s IN THE LOOP w/ kapital k.
@pet3rpan_ // 1kx Consumer Portfolio — link
thecoreloop // WAGME #20 (BACK AND READY!!) — link
Mobile Dev Memo // Amazon Prime Video’s Advertising — link
Mobile Dev Memo // The Jenga Tower Principle For Performance Marketing — link
Niko Partners // Trends in East Asian Video Game Streaming Hq 2023 — link
GameDiscoverCo // In-depth: Xbox Game Pass & the 'subscriber shuffle' — link
GameDiscoverCo // BattleBit Remastered: How Did it Sell Millions — link
Deconstructor of Fun // AI Gaming Revolution: Shaping The Future of Play — link
SuperJoost Playlist // Life after FIFA — link
GameDev Reports // State of the Game Streaming Market August 2023 — link
GameDev Reports // Omdia: Nintendo Switch Users Spend 5x Less on DLC than PlayStation & Xbox Players — link
Brutally Honest // Mr.Autofire Is On Fire! — link
Joakim Achren // Broken Cap Table — link
Eternal Dragons // Learnings of Web3, The Super Economy — link
Deconstructor of Fun // TWiG #251 — If We Were Running Unity
Deconstructor of Fun //Representation in Games & Games Award
UNBOXING // Video Game Actors Vote To Strike, Unity Back Tracks Fee, Xbox Data Leaks
The Token Takeover // Building a Web3 Game in the Bear w/ Mighty Bear Games
two & a half gamers // Mr. Autofire Live Review
Navigating the Metaverse // Fashion In The Metaverse
Bad End // Starfield, Lorcana, F-Zero 99
The AIAS Game Maker’s Notebook // Starfield with Bethesda’s Todd Howard
Naavik // What Fully On-Chain Games Mean for Gamers & Developers
Naavik // India’s Blue Gaming Ocean
Creative UK // $35.0M // Web2 // Fund — To grow the UK creative business sector. In partnership with Triodos Bank, the Creative Growth Finance 2 investment.
Investors: UK Government
Omada // $7.5M // Web2 // Casino — Creating a social casino app with a twist, no real betting.
Investors: Felix Capital, 20VC, F4, Motier Ventures, Play Ventures
Kyber Knight // $120.0M // Web2 // Fund — Focus on pre-seed and seed investments in early-stage technology start-ups.
Investors: John Hennessy, Manny Maceda, Chris DeFaria, Meg Whitman, Gary Barber, Kevin Tsujihara, Michael Eisner, Joe Gebbia, Michael Mente, David Sacks, Mark Pincus, KKR, Oaktree, Apollo, Goldman Sachs, NEA, McKinsey
Luda // $7.0M // Web2 // Simulation — AI Training Simulation to allow users to make AI creations that can interact or behave in accordance with physics without the user having to code or animate it.
Investors: Bitkraft Ventures, Compound, Jeff Dean, Illia Polosukhin
Afference // $1.5M // Web2 // Hardware — Develop wearable neural interface platform.
Investors: Konvoy Ventures
Aug X Labs // $3.1M // Web2 // Infra — Use AI to democratize video production
Investors: Unlock Venture Partners, Dropbox Ventures, Flying Fish Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Zenture VP, Mangesium Studio, Shae Hong, Eric Ries
Zakazane // $1.0M // Web2 // RPG — An immersive single-player Old West role-playing game that delves into the complexities of justice.
Investors: The Games Fund
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h/t to thecoreloop contributors: @0xkapital_k @chng_raymond @cloudxgmf @wassiecapital @iandaog @playtern @friandoteth @0xconglomerate @itsbambam
