2015
Company
Documents about 2015
CD Projekt 2020 Estimated Financial Results
CD Projekt achieved record-breaking financial performance in 2020, driven primarily by the high-profile launch of Cyberpunk 2077.
- In 2020, CD Projekt achieved record-breaking financial results with estimated revenues of 2.13 billion PLN ($563 million) and net profits of 1.15 billion PLN ($303 million).
- The 2020 financial performance represented a 2.6x increase in revenue and a 3x increase in net profit compared to the company's 2015 figures, driven by the launch of Cyberpunk 2077.
- Erste Securities Polska analysts project that the remaster of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt could generate between 100 million and 125 million PLN ($26 million to $32.5 million) by the end of 2026.
Hideo Kojima in Talks With Microsoft to Publish His Next Game
This report examines industry speculation regarding a potential publishing partnership between Hideo Kojima and Microsoft.
- Hideo Kojima is reportedly in talks with Microsoft to have the company publish his next game.
- The speculation regarding a Microsoft partnership was fueled by the appearance of a Ludens figurine on Phil Spencer’s shelf during a video stream.
- Neither Microsoft nor Kojima Productions has officially confirmed or commented on the potential publishing deal.
Clockmaker Analysis: Game That Aged Like Fine Wine
The mobile puzzle game Clockmaker, developed by Belka Games, serves as a case study for how a title can achieve significant commercial success years after its initial release.
- Belka Games' Clockmaker achieved over $230 million in lifetime revenue and nearly 30 million total downloads by successfully scaling years after its initial release.
- The game experienced a significant growth surge in late 2019 and reached a peak monthly revenue of over $6 million in January 2021.
- The primary player base consists of 'Thinkers' (53%), a demographic motivated by escapism, problem-solving, and competitive events, which aligns with the game's match-3 mechanics.
In FIFA v EA, Fans Lose
The termination of the thirty-year partnership between Electronic Arts (EA) and the football governing body FIFA marks a significant shift in the sports gaming landscape.
- EA’s Ultimate Team mode, a critical revenue driver, grew from $587 million in 2015 to $1.6 billion in 2021, underscoring the high financial stakes of the brand transition to EA Sports FC.
- Live services now account for 85% of EA’s $1.75 billion in quarterly bookings, providing a stable financial foundation as the company navigates the loss of the FIFA brand.
- FIFA faces significant financial risk from the split, as EA’s $150 million annual licensing fee represented the governing body's largest single income category.
Cyberpunk 2077 Development Actually Began in 2016
The development history of Cyberpunk 2077 reveals a pattern of internal management instability and shifting creative visions that ultimately contributed to the game's problematic launch.
- Actual development of Cyberpunk 2077 did not begin until 2016, following the scrapping of all previous prototypes and the disbanding of the 2015 development team.
- CD Projekt Red’s internal development was severely hampered by the studio's focus on The Witcher 3, which caused staff hired for Cyberpunk 2077 to be diverted to the former project for three years.
- A major technical bottleneck occurred in late 2016 when the team realized the existing RED Engine 3 could not support their design goals, forcing a massive engine overhaul that stalled production.
Recipe for Game Lending Libraries: Participatory Budget as a Way of Financing the Creation of Game Lending Libraries in Poland
This article examines how participatory budgets (budżety partycypacyjne/obywatelskie) can finance the creation of toy and game lending libraries in Poland, using the Warsaw project "Wypożyczalnie gier planszowych w bibliotece" as a case study.
- Participatory budgets are presented as an effective financing tool for establishing board game lending collections within existing public libraries in Poland, using Warsaw's "Wypożyczalnie gier planszowych w bibliotece" project as the central case study.
- Participatory budgeting spread rapidly after first appearing in Sopot in 2011, reaching 62 Polish cities by 2013.
- Warsaw recorded 27 proposals for game lending libraries in libraries, media centers, or cultural houses, all of which were funded, while Kraków and Katowice had only one proposal each among the voivodeship cities analysed.
Data Deep Dive: The Long Tail of Steam Games
This analysis examines the revenue "long tail" for games on the Steam platform, specifically investigating how initial launch performance correlates with long-term earnings.
- Games utilizing Early Access reach a five-year revenue total up to 20.34 times their first-week earnings, significantly outperforming standard release models.
- For non-Early Access titles, median gross revenue after one year is 4 times the first-week total, while one-month revenue is 1.47 times the first-week total.
- The initial launch week serves as a critical performance benchmark, as long-term revenue growth multiples remain consistent regardless of the specific launch year between 2015 and 2020.
Power of Storytelling in Blockbuster Casual Games
The casual mobile gaming industry, particularly the match-3 puzzle genre, has experienced a significant shift toward narrative-driven design as a primary method for product differentiation.
- The number of match-3 games reaching the top 100 grossing charts has seen an exponential increase between 2015 and 2020 due to the incorporation of character-driven narratives.
- Casual games represent the second-largest mobile genre, generating $8.1 billion in revenue in 2019, with the match-3 sub-genre capturing the majority of this market share.
- Player research indicates that up to 32% of puzzle gamers seek to learn new skills through gameplay, while 31% specifically look to immerse themselves in different characters or worlds.
Mobile Games Market Spotlight: Japan
Japan remains a dominant force in the global mobile gaming industry, accounting for 22 percent of total worldwide player spending on the App Store and Google Play during the first nine months of 2020.
- Japan accounted for 22% of all global mobile game player spending on the App Store and Google Play during the first nine months of 2020.
- The Japanese mobile gaming market reached a record $14.5 billion in revenue in 2019, representing nearly 23% of the global market share.
- Japanese publishers maintain strong local dominance, with eight of the top 10 revenue-generating mobile games in Japan between 2016 and 2020 originating from domestic companies.
Funded Company Acquired for £23 Million: UK
The acquisition of Sunderland-based developer Coatsink by the Swedish firm Thunderful Group highlights the successful trajectory of UK-based independent game studios supported by early-stage public funding.
- Swedish company Thunderful Group acquired UK-based developer and publisher Coatsink for an upfront consideration of £23 million.
- The acquisition deal includes an earn-out component that could bring the total consideration to a maximum of £65.5 million.
- Coatsink will continue to operate as an independent development studio while functioning as part of the Thunderful Games division.
WhatRunsWhere vs SocialPeta: The Most Powerful Ad Intelligence Tool
The comparison evaluates two leading digital advertising intelligence platforms—WhatRunsWhere and SocialPeta—to determine which offers greater analytical power for marketers.
- SocialPeta offers significantly broader market coverage than WhatRunsWhere, monitoring 73 global ad platforms and over one billion ads across 45 countries.
- WhatRunsWhere provides granular tracking within a more limited scope, covering 120,000 web publishers and 95,000 Android app publishers across seven developed markets.
- SocialPeta targets medium-to-large enterprises with annual contracts starting at $5,000, while WhatRunsWhere offers monthly subscription plans ranging from $299 to $399.
To Dream a Game
This document is an interview published in the 2020 issue of the gamevironments journal, in which Luis Wong of LEAP Game Studios discusses Tunche, an upcoming beat 'em up under development.
- LEAP Game Studios, founded in August 2012 by four friends in their early twenties, reached milestones including one of the first Peruvian console releases in 2015, a PlayStation Plus title, and a publishing contract for an original intellectual property.
- Tunche is a cooperative action beat 'em up for up to four players, set in the Amazon rainforest and rendered in hand-drawn animation, with combat-focused mechanics intended to differentiate it within its genre.
- Tunche's design draws on Amazonian myths and folklore, including the title creature and characters such as Rumi and the giant dolphin Boutu.