August
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Documents about August
Wouter Sleijffers Leaves EXCEL Esports
Wouter Sleijffers has officially departed the London-based esports organization EXCEL Esports, concluding a four-year tenure with the company.
- Wouter Sleijffers has officially departed London-based esports organization EXCEL Esports after serving as CEO for nearly four years.
- Sleijffers stepped down from his CEO role in January 2023, transitioning to an advisor position for the board on strategy and growth before his final exit in August 2023.
- Prior to his tenure at EXCEL, which began in late 2019, Sleijffers served as the CEO of Fnatic for more than four years.
When Will SKAN 4 Adoption Start Growing Again?
The primary objective of this analysis is to explain the recent decline in SKAN 4 adoption and forecast when growth will resume.
- As of August 2023, SKAN 4 adoption dropped to 9% of all mobile app install postbacks, down from a peak of 27% on July 29.
- The decline in SKAN 4 adoption was driven by a 'CV reset bug' that caused fine conversion values to reset to zero and coarse values to 'none' when conversion values were decremented.
- Despite the industry-wide decline, some ad networks maintained higher SKAN 4 adoption rates, including Unity (over 50%), AppLovin (nearly 50%), Smadex (36%), Appier (26%), and Mintegral (16%).
PCF Group Current Report No. 43/2023: Registration of Share Capital Increase
PCF Group S.A., the parent company of the game development studio People Can Fly, successfully registered an increase in its share capital and corresponding amendments to its articles of association on August 28, 2023.
- PCF Group S.A. successfully registered an increase in share capital on August 28, 2023, following an Extraordinary General Meeting resolution from August 7, 2023.
- The company issued 2,510,904 new Series G ordinary bearer shares, each with a nominal value of 0.02 PLN.
- The total share capital of PCF Group increased from 668,587.34 PLN to 718,805.42 PLN as a result of the issuance.
PCF Group Current Report No. 44/2023: Completion of Series G Share Subscription
This regulatory report, issued on August 28, 2023, details the successful completion of a Series G share subscription by PCF Group S.A. (People Can Fly), a prominent Warsaw-based game development studio.
- PCF Group S.A. successfully raised 100,938,340.80 PLN in gross capital through a private subscription of Series G shares.
- The offering consisted of 2,510,904 new ordinary shares issued at a price of 40.20 PLN per share.
- The subscription process concluded on August 18, 2023, with all shares fully subscribed to by 40 qualified institutional and professional investors.
Plus: Armored Core 6 Mechs Its Way to a Big Hit
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon has achieved a significant commercial debut on Steam, reaching a peak of 150,000 concurrent users.
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon reached a peak of 150,000 concurrent users on Steam, marking From Software's second-largest launch on the platform behind Elden Ring.
- Blasphemous 2 demonstrated strong sequel performance with over 8,500 concurrent users and positive player sentiment.
- High-budget titles Immortals of Aveum and the Steam release of Saints Row underperformed due to technical requirements and poor historical brand reputation, respectively.
Inside Tencent’s Peace Elite League Summer Split Final: Shanghai
The Peace Elite League (PEL) Summer Split Final, held in August 2023 at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, serves as a case study for the commercial viability and brand integration strategies within Tencent’s mobile esports ecosystem.
- The Peace Elite League (PEL) Summer Split Final, held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, awarded a total prize pool of ￥11.24M ($1.54M USD), with the winning team, TEC, receiving ￥5M ($687K USD).
- Tencent is aggressively pursuing non-endemic brand partnerships for Peacekeeper Elite, leveraging the game's realistic aesthetic to integrate brands like McDonald's, Tesla, Lotus, and Maserati directly into the in-game environment.
- The PEL ecosystem has secured over 30 brand partners to date, with 5–6 companies, including e-commerce platform Jing Dong, maintaining long-term sponsorship agreements.
Valorant Champions Skin Bundle Generates $40M
The 2023 Valorant Champions in-game skin bundle generated $40 million in revenue during its limited availability window, which began on August 4, 2023.
- The 2023 Valorant Champions skin bundle generated $40 million in revenue between its August 4 launch and August 24, 2023.
- Approximately 50% of the total revenue, amounting to $20 million, is being distributed evenly among the 16 partnered organizations in the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT).
- Each of the 16 VCT partner teams receives roughly $1.25 million from the bundle sales, independent of any additional prize money earned during the tournament.
Carry1st Partners With Riot to Bring Valorant Servers to South Africa
The partnership between South African publisher Carry1st and Riot Games marks a strategic expansion of infrastructure for the tactical shooter Valorant within the African continent.
- Riot Games and South African publisher Carry1st have partnered to launch local Valorant servers in South Africa, effective August 31, 2023.
- As part of the agreement, Carry1st will lead regional promotional campaigns to drive engagement and awareness for the game.
- Carry1st will host an interactive promotional activation at Comic Con Africa in Johannesburg, scheduled for September 22–25, 2023.
Benefits of Wiping in Live Streaming Viewership: Escape From Tarkov
The periodic "wipe" system in the hardcore first-person shooter Escape From Tarkov serves as a primary driver for its sustained popularity and live streaming viewership.
- Escape From Tarkov generated 120 million hours watched in January 2023, marking a record high for the title.
- The game's 'wipe' system, which periodically resets all player progress and inventory, serves as a primary driver for viewership spikes on streaming platforms.
- Following a record-breaking January 2023, viewership for the game dropped by 74% in February before stabilizing in Q2.
My Perfect Hotel: Dissecting the New Hybrid Casual Hit
The mobile game My Perfect Hotel, developed by SayGames, serves as a primary case study for the success of the hybrid-casual genre.
- My Perfect Hotel is a hybrid-casual title that blends arcade, simulation, and idle clicker mechanics, requiring active player participation in customer service rather than passive tapping.
- The game utilizes a multi-tiered progression system that allows players to unlock new floors, amenities, and hotels, balancing active engagement with idle background progression.
- SayGames achieved significant growth through an iterative publishing approach, focusing on continuous improvements to user acquisition and monetization strategies over several months.
Netflix’s Games Strategy Takes Shape
Netflix is actively expanding its gaming footprint by transitioning from a mobile-exclusive model to a broader, cross-platform streaming service.
- As of August 21, 2023, Netflix has initiated a beta rollout of a new games streaming product designed for TVs, computers, and mobile devices.
- This development marks an expansion of Netflix's gaming strategy, which began in 2021 with the initial introduction of mobile games to its platform.
- The new streaming initiative aims to broaden the accessibility of Netflix's gaming library beyond the mobile-only environment established at the program's inception.
Informacja na Podstawie Art. 69 Ustawy o Ofercie Publicznej (2023)
This regulatory notification, issued in Warsaw on August 21, 2023, details a significant change in the shareholding structure of PlayWay S.A., a prominent Polish video game developer and publisher.
- On August 18, 2023, PlayWay S.A. founder Krzysztof Kostowski transferred 2,700,000 shares, representing 40.91% of the company's share capital and voting rights, to the Fundacja Rodzinna Kostowscy.
- The transaction was a private asset management move, structured as a donation of shares from the founder to his newly established family foundation.
- Despite the transfer of direct ownership to the Foundation, Krzysztof Kostowski retains full indirect control over the 40.91% voting block.