IN THE LOOP with kapital k // W44 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 44 of 2023. Here are the top five headlines and fundraising announcements + a collection of content from independent creators that you missed this week!
PGBiz // Five Keys For Building Mobile Gaming Community — link
THOUGHTS: Community is a hard thing to build. So this article from PGBiz breaking down gamer archetypes and the different channels of connecting with your game's community.
First, there are in-game and out-game channels. In-game communication usually takes the form of a text chat or a voice channel. Out-game is where it gets interesting.
Out-game connections are external chat rooms, forums, and social media that isn't affiliated with your game. These could be centered around a specific game or about general gaming culture.
Here are the four types of gamers in a community. Remember, these are gamers who enjoy your game enough to join the community.
1. Beginners. This is self-explanatory. The key is to allow for easy onboarding then proper placement. You want these beginners to find their "clique" and where they fit in the community asap.
2. Veterans. These are your OGs. They know the game quite well and are usually answering Beginners' questions, driving discussions, and engaging with the community. Additionally, they most likely have exposure/access to external forums so need to cultivate them to be your evangelist for all Out-game channels.
3. Non-combatives. These are gamers who doesn't play to compete but rather to just be a part of the experience. An ideal community provides a collaborative and open space for them to participate as they seem fit.
4. Cheats. These are players who just like to find the edge cases and are motivated on discovering the "hacks". They need a forum and platform to share their conquests and "brag" about how they figured out the tips and tricks. They're also most likely to be active on external chats so you need to cultivate them as well.
Identifying the composition of your community will enable you to discover the right medium and format of communication. This will boost not only those gamers LTV but also attract and retain new players.
Mistplay // Report on Mobile Game Genres & User Behavior — link
THOUGHTS: This isn't surprising but RPGs have the most engaged and loyal playerbase (on mobile) — followed by Strategy then Simulation genres.
An analysis of millions of players' behavior across 500 mobile titles, Mistplay compiled a loyal report to compare players across genres as well as their receptiveness to ads and other form of monetization.
Puzzle games have the highest Day-30 retention. But its only middle of the pack in terms of monetization and other measures. Conversely, RPG accounted for nearly 1/3 of all in-app purchases in 2022.
For largest count of spenders and repeat purchasers, the lifestyle genre takes the crown.
Unsurprisingly, new and timely released content keep players engaged. If the update is crap, however, 40% of players will uninstall. Player's stickiness is driven by desire for progression and the reluctance to abandon progress. In other words, players succumb to sunk cost fallacy.
Heavy spenders ($100+) are 28% more likely to play EIGHT OR MORE games every week and are 55% more likely to spend in those games as well.
"2% of a mobile game's player base can generate up to 95% of its IAP revenue" - Mistplay
Studying these behaviors within your game's genre AND providing a community (see Look at Gaming #321) could be saving you in this high CAC/UA environment.
GameIndustry.biz // The State of The Games Industry — link
THOUGHTS: In 2023, there were strong sales figures and hits after hits. Hogwarts 15M copies sold. Zelda 10M in a weekend. Diablo $666M. Baldur's Gate 3, Star Wars, Super Mario (the movie and the game). More than 24 games scored 90+ on Metacritic in 2023.
But yet 6000 jobs were eliminated. No one was immuned, from large conglomerates such as Embracer to tech companies like Twitch, and even storied studios (see Bungie, BioWare, Epic).
What's going on?
In the analysis, the author took us back to the pre-COVID period. I'll just TLDR the data points for you.
2019
- 45% of game sales were newly released games
- Console = -30%
- Mobile = +13%
2020
- 33% of games sales were newly released games
- Console = +52%
- Mobile = +26%
2021
- 31% of games sales were newly released games
- Console = +14%
- Mobile = +7%
2022
- 40% of games sales were newly released games
- Console = -8%
- Mobile - 7%
What does it mean? In 2019, the focus was on new titles as everyone was anticipating new console releases. In 2020, new consoles came and the craze began but we also saw older titles regaining attention — healthy. The trend continued in 2021.
Another element to consider was the flurry of investment activities. EA buying Codemasters, Xbox buying Bethesda, Tencent and Sumo, Take-Two and Zynga, Sony and Bungie, and of course the Microsoft-Activision deal. Also talented devs leaving studios to form their own ventures also received tons of funding.
Then it all changed in 2022.
People expected a retraction, a reversion to the mean. We're seeing this in the form of job cuts and slowdown in fundraising, which would translate to fewer and subpar game releases in the coming years.
The industry is going through a correction and we just have to "muscle through" it.
Though, there are factors that are working in our favor such as the technological advances in the hardware and software. New chips, new handheld consoles — better AI and developer tools.
Midia Research // $300B by 2030 — link
THOUGHTS: Global gaming market is expected to hit $300B with 3.8 billion gamers by 2030. Though this sounds like a good big number, it's actually not.
In 2020, the industry experienced 26% (fueled by COVID). Then 2021 led to single digit growth of 9% and in 2022 there was a 5% decline. Experts expect 2023 to be slightly positive but barely (if at all) keeping up with inflation.
So the industry is "peaking".
There were other interesting data points in 2023 that I want to share:
• $12B from180M subscriptions
• $125B in-game spending (60% cosmetics
+ 40% progress-based)
• $22B for games advertising
• $20B for console hardware
Sony // What is Sony’s Strategy? — link
THOUGHTS: Sony is intentional and shrewd. Prior to any big acquisitions, the Japanese company wouldve had been working with the studio for a prolonged period of time (see Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, etc.). We saw a divergent from this with the acquisition of Bungie.
Though this $3.6B investment by Sony is experiencing some turbulence. With the expansion of Destiny 2 being delayed, revenues coming in 45% less than expected, a quesitonable game launch, and a round of layoffs, Bungie isn’t in the best spot.After the MSFT-ATVI deal being approved, Sony must step up its game to compete in this new paradigm. Sony’s carefully crafted network of studios will be challenged. And the cost cutting efforts across some of its studios does not signal strength when its largest competitor is gearing up to go on the offensive.
But victory in the games industry is decided by years not months but the planning starts now. Sony needs to grow and innovate, rather than grind and consolidate.
Don’t miss out on next week’s IN THE LOOP w/ kapital k.
@AndrewSteinwold // The metaverse is inevitable — link
@eric_seufert // Misconception of LTV/CAC Without Context — link
@sparkcsays // 3 Tips for Valuing Gaming NFTs — link
@Jihoz_Axie // BERRY the primary in-game currency in Pixels — link
@jiayaoqi // Deep dive into Autonouse Worlds — link
@1_ogic //ROI Calculation on Playing Axie Infinity — link
@WolvesDAO // The Chopping Block Web3 Gaming Review (Big Time) — link
thecoreloop // Weekly Alpha Gaming Metaverse Expedition (WAGME) #25 — link
Deconstructor of Fun // Warcraft Rumble — The Ultimate Deconstruction — link
SystemTalk // Why is There a Productivity Problem in Gaming? — link
Konvoy Venture // Verifiable Anonymity — link
Stream Hatchet // Fortnite On Top Of Streaming Platform — link
MobileDevMemo // Meta Q3 2023 earnings: 24% advertising revenue growth, 7% engagement increase — link
MobileDevMemo // Apple & Google Race To Attribute The Internet — link
MobileDevMemo // Meta, Subscriptions, & EU’s Privacy Gordian Knot — link
Newzoo & TikTok // Promoting PC & Console Titles — link
SensorTower // Japanese Mobile Market — link
Game Stuff // How startups can survive the storm — link
GameDev Reports // Weekly Gaming Reports 10/23 to 10/27 — link
Ancient8 // Fully On-Chain Games: Unlocking the Virtual Autonomous Economies — link
WolvesDAO // Web3 Studios vs. EA, Blizzard, Take-Two — link
GameDiscoverCo // How many games PC/Console players own & do they ‘main’ just one? — link
Brutally Honest // Breakdown of Mo.Co — link
Keruvu Games // India, AA, vs. AAA Game — link
Deconstructor of Fun // TWIG 256 “What the hell is going on with video games?
Deconstructor of Fun // Diary of a (retired) CEO
two & a half gamers // Supercell’s Mo.co: First Look!
The AIAS Game Maker’s Notebook // Double Fine’s Kevin Johnson
Naavik // Inside Scopely: Monopoly Go, Stumble Guys, & Its Future
Naavik // S-Tier Go-To-Market Insights for PC Games
Moonveil Entertainment // $5.4M // Web3 // Casual — multiplayer mobile games using blockchain technology.
Investors: Gumi Cryptos Capital, Arcane Group, Longhash, IOSG, Infinity Venture Crypto
Guild Esports // $1.24M // Web2 // Esports — Esports organization targeting the Middle Eastern North Africa region
Investors: Unknown
Playbite // $1.0M // Web2 // Arcade — The company is making casual games that are part of an arcade-inspired hub on iOS and Android.
Investors: Grishin Robotics, M25, Tundra Ventures, Capitalize VC, Magic Fund
Animoca Brands // $50.0M // Web3 // Fund — Animoca Brands, a leading blockchain gaming and metaverse investment company, is forming a strategic alliance with Neom
Investors: Neom
Funstop // $1.5M // Web2 // Casual — Developer of Pitstop Manager, Airport Rush 3D, and Perfect Time
Investors: InfoEdge
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h/t to thecoreloop contributors: @0xkapital_k @chng_raymond @cloudxgmf @wassiecapital @iandaog @playtern @friandoteth @0xconglomerate @itsbambam
