IN THE LOOP with kapital k // W46 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 46 of 2023. Here are the top five headlines and fundraising announcements + a collection of content from independent creators that you missed this week!
Epic Games // Fortnite’s $147million ‘bribe’ only highlights Google Play’s ongoing payola problem — link
THOUGHTS: So much juiciness is flowing out of the Epic v. Google trial. We learned that Google offered $147M to Epic to make Fortnite a Play Store exclusive. Google also offered these "incentives" to other large publishers like Activision, Com2uS, EA, Riot, Supercell, Tencent, etc.
Paying for exclusivity isn't new. But in this particular case, it shines a light on games that got too big. So big that the payola is laughable. Epic going off-platform caused Google to lose an estimated $130-250M of potential revenue — this is more than the $147M "bribe" that Google offered. It is estimated that if Epic's defection from the Play Store were to spread to other large publishers, Google could lose up to $3.6B.
And this isn't limited to games. Netflix received a discounted rate of 10% App Store fees. Spotify also got a sweetheart deal.
Meta // Partners with Tencent to push VR into China after a 14 year ba — link
THOUGHTS: Meta and Tencent is teaming up. After a 14-year ban from China, Meta is finally reentering the country.
For Meta's VR ambition, it's teaming up with Tencent to bring a VR device into PROC. The headset is said to be somewhere between a Quest 2 and Quest 3.
This largest social media company and the largest gaming company is forming a union to conquer the metaverse. Scary.
In other news, we have Game7's report is amazing. Highly recommend checking out the data points in there. Amazon isn't immune to lay offs. And Google's CEO will be testifying in the Epic v Google case.
Google & Lumikai // The Indian Gaming Market in 2023 and Forecast until 2027 — link
THOUGHTS: "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
AppsFlyer // Mobile marketing budgets have dropped 20% — link
THOUGHTS: 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.
Supercell & CD Projekt Red // UGC-fication and Platformatization of IPs — link1, link2
THOUGHTS: 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.
Don’t miss out on next week’s IN THE LOOP w/ kapital k.
@BanklessHQ // Parallel Colony is bringing AI gaming onchain — link
@Etherway //Composable Modding: The Super Power of Fully Onchain Games — link
@Sparkcsays // Gaming Launchpads bearish in the next bull run — link
@WolvesDAO // Launching a gaming token — link
@Notmaitham // Thesis on Open Economy Gaming — link
@EdC (Avalanche) // TOP SECRET Playbook for Avalanche Gaming — link
@JACL_e9 // Integrating Bitcoin into Games — link
@ljin18 // Progressive Token Ownership — link
@MasonNystrom // Analysis of DraftKings Success — link
@JohnWright // Mobile Games Publishing Part 1 — link
thecoreloop // Weekly Alpha Gaming Metaverse Expedition (WAGME) #27 — link
Evolution of Web3 Gaming // 7 Essential Considerations Before Launching a Gaming Token — link
SuperJoost Playlist // Playing, fast and slow — link
Konvoy Ventures // Revenue Per Gamer ($59) — link
Newzoo // IP & Collaborations in Games 2023 — link
Newzoo // 2023 Games Market Forecast $184B — link
Deconstructor of Fun // 7 Game Industry Truths w/ President of Xsolla — link
DDM // Gaming M&A Activity Hits $6B — link
MobileDevMemo // Amazon’s advertising partnerships with Meta and Snap — link
MobileDevMemo // Brand strategy in an information war — link
Brutally Honest // 11 Tips For Killer UA Ops — link
Circana // American Gaming Market in Oct 2023 fell by 5% — link
Niko Partners // Partnering with Tencent to deliver dep insights into Asian & MENA video games market — link
Game7 // Asia Hub For Web3 Game Dev while US Dominates Funding — link
Deconstructor of Fun // 7 Game Industry Truths w/ President of Xsolla
Deconstructor of Fun // TWIG 258 Grouchy Kress Alert
Konvoy Ventures // Holly Liu — Kabam
Token Takeover // Fundraising for your Web3 Startup w/ Game7 DAO
PGBiz // Understanding Every Player Experience For Record-Breaking Issue Resolution
2 & a half gamers // 5 Tips for Killer UA, Black Friday secret admon tips
The AIAS Game Maker’s Notebook // Super Evil Megacorp
Microcast // Grand THeft Auto 6 Revealed, Modern Warfare 3 Dev Woes
Unboxing // Play & Profit for Gaming Curious
MobileDevMemo // The Journey to Probabilistic Attribution
Moonveil Entertainment // $5.4M // Web3 // Casual — multiplayer mobile games using blockchain technology.
Investors: Gumi Cryptos Capital, Arcane Group, Longhash, IOSG, Infinity Venture Crypto
Blank Game Studios // $17.0M // Web2 // RPG — AAA-quality game builders from CD Projekt Red alums
Investors: Neowiz
Squido Studio // $1.1M // Web2 // VR/AR — Development of a mixed reality multiplayer game
Investors: Canada Media Fund, Preview Labs, La Guilde de jeu video qu Quebec, OVHCloud, Equionox Games, National Research Council Canada, Creature’s Dough North Cook, DigiHub Shawinigan
Transcend Fund // $60.0M // Web2 // Fund — Transcend focuses on early-stage investments across the video games industry.
Investors: Unknown
Bezi // $13.0M // Web2 // Infra — a collaborative 3D design tool to enable more user-generated content.
Investors: Benchmark, Uncork Capital, Designer Fund
Noice // $21.0M // Web2 // Casual — a multiplayer game platform with a built-in live streaming platform.
Investors: Supercell, Wolt
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h/t to thecoreloop contributors: @0xkapital_k @chng_raymond @cloudxgmf @wassiecapital @iandaog @playtern @friandoteth @0xconglomerate @itsbambam
