Naavik

🎮 Dissecting HoYoverse’s Newest Gacha Engine Zenless Zone Zero is HoYoverse’s new urban fantasy action RPG, a follow-up to fantasy action RPG Genshin Impact and last year’s sci-fi, turn-based battle RPG Honkai: Star Rail. It launched globally on July 4th on iOS, Android, PC, and PS5. ZZZ takes place in a post-apocalyptic futuristic city known as New Eridu and has HoYoverse’s trademark high production values, as you can see in its trailer. It will undoubtedly have a big launch, given its more than 40M pre-registrations. This figure easily beats Genshin (10M pre-registrations) and Honkai (23M). HoYo just announced they've hit 50M downloads, but can they turn this gacha game into a long-lasting success? For a closer look at our predictions, keep on reading here: https://lnkd.in/eJSAieQC Thanks for writing, Harshal Karvande! And a special thanks to Nefta for making this digest issue possible. You can learn more about them here: https://lnkd.in/emGckbU9

I really enjoyed this conversation with fellow Zynga alum Michael Martinez, founder & CEO of casual mobile studio FunCraft. In this episode of the Naavik podcast, we discuss how Michael built a $35 million revenue run rate company with not one, not 2, but now 3 hit games in the highly competitive casual word game genre on mobile. Some great lessons for any gaming entrepreneur, including: - Bigger is not always better: Funcraft's team size will surprise you! - Speed is of the essence: this is one advantage startups have over larger incumbents - Ad monetization works: Funcraft generates impressive ARPDAUs from ads alone and is able to do LTV-positive UA against them - Remote culture can be an asset: it opens up hiring globally - Failure provides valuable learnings: Michael talks candidly about the failure of his prior gaming startup, Juicebox Games, and what he's doing differently this time around Real talk, with lots of real metrics to benchmark against.

🎮 Can Chinese AAA Games Capture Western Hearts? Chinese developers are increasingly looking to make their mark on the AAA game market. This trend has been front and center over the summer’s major gaming showcases, with a new wave of titles like Black Myth: Wukong, Phantom Blade Zero, and Infinity Nikki demonstrating high production values and ambitious scope. But what’s driving this, and will these developers find success in the AAA space? More importantly, how might they reshape the global gaming landscape in the coming years? To find out, read the whole piece here: https://lnkd.in/eJ9wde_c Thanks for writing, Matthew Dion! And a special thanks to ZBD for making this digest issue possible. You can learn more about them here: https://lnkd.in/eqkjWmhN #gamesindustry #AAA #gamingnews

🎙 Privacy concerns, from Apple's new policies to government regulations, are reshaping AdTech strategies. This episode investigates how companies can adapt to new regulations while striving for effective targeting. Join your host, Devin Becker, as he speaks to Geeshan Willink, the CEO of Nefta, a privacy-first mobile gaming advertising network. Join us as we cover: - From Web3 to AdTech - Privacy-first approach - Targeting vs. privacy - Anonymous profiling effectiveness - Behavioral targeting examples - Game/platform suitability - Retention impact - Recent AdTech trends - Future predictions Apple: https://lnkd.in/gW3-FQ97 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gFZYA2Uz Youtube: https://lnkd.in/gmdrUSKT We’d also like to thank Lightspeed for making this episode possible! With its dedicated gaming practice, "Lightspeed Gaming," the firm is investing from over $7B in early- and growth-stage capital — the by far largest fund focused on gaming and interactive technology. If you’re interested in learning more, go to https://gaming.lsvp.com/.

💰 Unpacking Private Equity’s Interest in the Work-for-Hire Industry Private equity firms have traditionally been hesitant to invest in gaming due to its unpredictability and hit-driven nature. However, as the $200B-plus gaming market continues to grow, more IPs have proven their staying power, and the industry turns toward more recurring revenue models, these investors are now starting to take notice. While most private equity firms are still getting comfortable with investing directly in content, there has been active interest in the software and services surrounding gaming. There has been a flurry of private equity activity in the work-for-hire space. But what has this activity been exactly, and what could it mean for the future? To find out, read the whole piece here: https://lnkd.in/evjKXXC9 And a special thanks to CleverTap for making this digest issue possible! You can learn more about them here: https://lnkd.in/epXfhp4x #privateequity #workforhire #gamesindustry

Toys, video games, and linear entertainment combined under a single IP are creating transmedia bonfires of excitement, leading to outsized returns for toy companies like Spin Master. 📈 Roblox activations are driving toys sales and tv show engagement. Unicorn Academy debuted its TV show on Roblox before it launched on Netflix. It went on to become a top 10 TV show in 68 countries. Meanwhile, they saw statistically significant uplift in toy sales when activating on Roblox with brands like Bakugan and Monster Jam. 🏷️ They are acquiring video game properties and studios and growing them through live-service Spin Master acquired Toca Boca when it had under 15 million MAUs in 2016 and grew it to over 60 millions MAUs today and the 19th most popular game by active users globally (data.ai). They also acquired Nørdlight Games in order to build a Rubik's cube game that will launch this fall. 📺 It's worth asking: Should we even call Spin Master a toy company? They expect that 20% of revenue will come from video games in the not too distant future. Video games are already responsible for a third of its operating income today. Spin Master's breakout TV show PAW Patrol culminated in the $200 million box-office hit last September, further cementing their status as much more than a toy company. 🎯 Major toy companies are increasingly adapting their businesses to look more like video game studios as they look to meet young players where they spend their time. To go even deeper on the topic, check out my interview with Yves Saada, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Spin Master on the Naavik Gaming Podcast (link the comments).

There’s ongoing discourse on whether transmedia is accretive to a video game franchise’s bottom line. But Chess is a business that has been catapulted into the limelight by shows like Netflix’s Queen’s Gambit, upcoming films like A24’s adaptation Checkmate, and chess personalities like Levy Rozman “Gotham Chess” and Hikaru Nakamura. 👑 But what is going on in the sphere of online Chess, and how do you build a chess empire? Erik Allebest and his co-founder, Jay Severson bought the Chess.com domain in 2005 for $55K and have grown a platform that is: 170M accounts strong 50M MAU 5-7M DAU Runs 35M games per day 🗣 We discuss: Acceptable engagement and monetization levers amongst the Chess community An authentic and raw disclosure about going against the grain out of business school, making mistakes, and accidentally getting into some legal trouble The unique predicament of not being able to own your IP (you can’t copyright “the rules of a game” it turns out) Where the future of online chess is headed That and more! Listen to the full episode Naavik on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube in the comments.

David’s latest episode with the Head of Strategic Partnerships, Yves Saada, at Spin Master is now live!

🎮 Which Gaming Blockchains Are Winning? There has been consolidation among the many blockchain ecosystems launched in the past few years. Here, we’ll examine who’s likely to survive further consolidation and establish a base to build a web3 business upon. Though web3 gaming has clearly underperformed, the heavy financial backing in the space provides a reason to still pay attention. Immutable Continues Consolidating Like many early Ethereum-based games, Gods Unchained outgrew what the chain could support and motivated Immutable to create a new layer-2 network to support it, Immutable X (IMX). One of the important distinctions of this new network was using an early version of ZK (Zero-Knowledge) technology from StarkWare that reduced the amount of game data needing to be verified by the blockchain. This let Immutable set up a system where games could operate without paying gas fees, but at the cost of not being able to use smart contracts with its lack of EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) support. Both gas costs and EVM support have been key considerations in bringing games to the blockchains. Keep reading to find out how the other gaming blockchains are doing: https://lnkd.in/eyvmUinK Thank you for writing, Devin Becker! And a special thanks to Overwolf for making this digest issue possible. You can learn more about them here: https://lnkd.in/ep72e3SZ #web3 #blockchain #gamesindustry

🎙 Spin Master is, in their own words, a "multi-category children's entertainment company". From toys to games, it's behind hit brands like Paw Patrol. Today, host David Taylor sits down with Yves Saada, the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Spin Master, to better understand its place at the intersection of toys, video games, and entertainment. We cover a myriad of topics, including: - What does Spin Master do? - How does Spin Master approach gaming? - Acquisition of Toca Boca - Structure of studios - Differences between Mobile and Roblox - Approach to success in Marketing - Competition between Roblox and Netflix - Choosing between Mobile and Roblox - Upcoming opportunities for Spin Master - Other platforms of Interest Apple: https://lnkd.in/ggPxG9PE Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ghQXQ_Mc Youtube: https://lnkd.in/gDS7U3Pc We’d also like to thank Lightspeed for making this episode possible! With its dedicated gaming practice, "Lightspeed Gaming," the firm is investing from over $7B in early- and growth-stage capital — the by far largest fund focused on gaming and interactive technology. If you’re interested in learning more, go to https://gaming.lsvp.com/.