2015
Company
Documents about 2015
Understanding Transmedia Character-Centric Discourse in Gacha Games: A Social Semiotic Analysis of Genshin Impact
This paper proposes a social semiotic framework for analysing how gacha games, using Genshin Impact as its primary case, deploy characters as organising principles that operate both semiotically and commercially across transmedia contexts.
- The paper proposes a social semiotic framework, grounded in Halliday's systemic functional linguistics and Kress and van Leeuwen's multimodal frameworks, for analysing how gacha games use characters as organising principles across transmedia contexts, with Genshin Impact as the primary case.
- The authors argue that existing multimodal research has examined single media in isolation, leaving transmedia character discourse underexplored.
- The method combines Kress's (2010) layout model, attending to spatial positioning and text-image relations, with Adami's (2015) framework treating website interface elements as both representational signs and actionable nodes, applied to character-centric visual hierarchies.
Understanding the Paradox of MetroidBrainias: The Case of Animal Well
This paper examines "MetroidBrainia," an informal term used in discussions of Metroidvania-style games, using the 2024 indie title Animal Well as its case study.
- The term "MetroidBrainia" traces to a 2015 remark by designer Nick Suttner about Jonathan Blow's The Witness, and it has never been comprehensively defined.
- The authors argue MetroidBrainia is better understood as a gameplay element that triggers epiphanies rather than as a genre, with abstract challenges that depend on players' growing understanding of a game's rules and world, unlike the tangible item-locked challenges of Metroidvanias.
- Animal Well's deeper puzzle layers are optional and nearly imperceptible, so many players may experience it only as a Metroidvania, and the designer's explicit announcement of hidden layers may diminish genuine discovery.
Designing Anthrogames: Theory, Methods, and AI Integration in Cultural Gaming
Designing Anthrogames examines purpose-built games that merge anthropological knowledge with interactive design, arguing that these works represent a distinct category from educational or documentary games because they are grounded in ethnographic methodology.
- Anthrogames are framed as a distinct category from educational or documentary games because they are grounded in ethnographic methodology, with the field tracing a progression from virtual ethnography (2000–2008) through game production studies (2009–2015) to recognized practice (2016–2024).
- The central argument is that large language models and participatory design could substantially reshape how anthrogames are developed, but the work is primarily conceptual and literature-based, offering no quantitative findings.
- Never Alone (developed with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council and Iñupiaq community input) is presented as a model of cultural insight integrated into cooperative mechanics, while The Long Day of Young Peng translates Andrea Pia's fieldwork on rural-urban labor migration in China into playable experience.
Hollywood Goes Mobile: Mobile Games Shine Spotlight on Celebrity Advertising
The integration of celebrity endorsements into mobile game marketing serves as a highly effective strategy for driving user acquisition, revenue growth, and engagement.
- Dream Games' 'Royal Kingdom' saw a 581% surge in downloads and a 213% increase in daily active users (DAU) between April 12 and May 25, 2025, following the launch of celebrity-led ad campaigns.
- The 'Royal Kingdom' campaign, featuring stars from 'Friends' and 'Modern Family', drove a 30% increase in revenue and helped the game climb 88 positions to reach the 25th spot in overall US category rankings by May 25, 2025.
- Historical data shows similar success for other titles: 'Mobile Strike' experienced a 4,300% spike in downloads after hiring Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2015, while 'Coin Master' saw a 43% increase in downloads and 46% increase in DAU after launching campaigns with Jennifer Lopez and the Kardashians in 2020.
CD Projekt 2024 Financial Report
CD Projekt’s 2024 financial results demonstrate a resilient business model despite a year characterized by the absence of major new game releases.
- CD Projekt reported a 2024 net profit of PLN 469.9 million ($121.6 million), marking its third-best annual performance despite a 20% year-over-year revenue decline to PLN 985 million ($255 million).
- The Witcher 4 entered full production in November 2024 and currently employs 411 developers, representing the largest portion of the company's 707-person development staff.
- CD Projekt has entered a strategic partnership with Scopely to develop a new game based on one of its existing IPs, either The Witcher or Cyberpunk.
GameOver: Execs on AI, Steam Sales, Politics, and Pokémon GO LiveOps
This analysis provides a critical overview of current trends and executive decision-making within the global video game industry as of early 2025.
- The AI gaming market is projected to grow to $1.81 billion in 2025, up from $1.47 billion in 2024, with over 60% of studios currently utilizing AI for content generation.
- Over 30 voice actors from Apex Legends have publicly refused to sign agreements allowing their voices to be used for training generative AI models.
- RuneScape has surpassed $2 billion in lifetime revenue, demonstrating the long-term viability of the MMORPG model.
State of the Game Industry: 2025
The GDC 2025 State of the Game Industry survey, as summarized by GameDev Reports, tracks developer sentiment and working conditions across layoffs, generative AI, platforms, financing, and social issues.
- Industry instability persists as only 43% of developers reported no layoffs at their companies, a significant decline from 53% in the previous year.
- Generative AI adoption is widespread, with 52% of developers utilizing AI tools, primarily for business, finance, and management tasks rather than core development.
- PC remains the dominant platform for development at 80%, while mobile development saw a rare post-2020 increase, with 28-29% of respondents now targeting iOS and Android.
NineBot Becomes Official Chinese Partner of Valorant Champions Tour and Valorant Masters
NineBot, a China-based electronic motorcycle manufacturer, has entered into a strategic partnership with TJ Sports to become the official Chinese partner for the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) and Valorant Masters.
- NineBot has signed a partnership with TJ Sports to become the official Chinese partner for the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) China region and Valorant Masters.
- The partnership will debut at Valorant Masters Bangkok, which runs from February 20 to March 2, 2025.
- Financial terms of the deal between NineBot and TJ Sports were not disclosed.
Is This the Future of Indie Game Publishing?
The current landscape of indie game publishing is shifting away from the traditional model of building a catalog of mid-to-high-budget titles, which proved successful between 2015 and 2021.
- The indie publishing model is shifting from mid-to-high-budget catalogs toward agile, low-cost strategies that prioritize rapid iteration and gameplay-led concepts.
- Rogue Duck Interactive generated $1.75 million in gross revenue and 300,000 units sold since March 2024 by focusing on strategy games priced between $6 and $12.
- High-velocity development cycles and social media-driven virality can lead to significant post-launch scaling, with successful titles seeing 30-day earnings reach ten times their day-one revenue.
Feminist Pinball: How Women Are Changing Competitive Play and the Industry
Competitive pinball has long been shaped by a masculine culture, and this analysis argues that women's underrepresentation stems from hostile social environments and sexualized game design rather than any biological difference.
- Roughly 94 percent of the more than 125,000 listed IFPA pinball players are male, and only three women reached the top one hundred world rankings in 2023, up from a single woman, Helena Walter Higgins, who held a place until then.
- The report attributes women's underrepresentation in competitive pinball to hostile social environments, gatekeeping, and sexualized game design rather than any biological difference.
- Sexualized imagery runs through pinball history, from 1950s pin-up art to the 1970s, when many games from major manufacturers featured sexualized women, and the report cites Stern's Whoa Nellie! (2015) and a 2002 Playboy machine as recent examples drawing scrutiny.
Gaming Across Boundaries: The MSP Challenge as Boundary Object for Learning in Maritime Spatial Planning Communities
The MSP Challenge serious games are examined as boundary objects that support learning in maritime spatial planning (MSP), with the central argument that their effectiveness depends on the interplay between the game object, the activity design, and the boundary space in which participants interact.
- The study is a mixed-methods qualitative case study of the MSP Challenge serious games, drawing on 62 workshops held between 2016 and 2020 with over 1,100 participants, 935 questionnaire responses, and 33 stakeholder interviews.
- Effectiveness is framed as depending on the interplay between the game object, the activity design, and the boundary space in which participants interact, rather than on the game alone.
- Board game workshops generally produced high enjoyment and improved MSP understanding, with MSP Global 2030 sessions scoring highest, though outcomes varied with group size, workshop duration, facilitation quality, and participant background.
The Romanian Video Games Development Industry
Romania's video game development industry has grown substantially over the past decade, according to a ten-year retrospective covering 2015 through 2024.
- The Romanian video game industry has nearly tripled its turnover in the last decade, growing from approximately €119 million in 2015 to over €340 million in 2024.
- The sector’s workforce has expanded at an annual rate of 12%, with total headcount projected to reach 343,160 employees by 2024.
- Market dominance is held by major multinational publishers like Electronic Arts in Bucharest and Ubisoft in Cluj-Napoca, while mid-size studios such as Amber, Green Horse Games, and Playtika contribute between 5% and 15% of total earnings.