August

How to Find and Apply for Game Festivals

Virtual game festivals have emerged as a primary driver for visibility and wishlist acquisition for developers on the Steam platform.

• Steam festivals are the most effective method for driving visibility, with successful participation often yielding between 400 and 2,000 wishlists over a few days.
• High-performing games have attributed significant wishlist spikes—sometimes accounting for the majority of their total growth—directly to their presence in online festival events.
• Developers should prioritize creating and testing a high-quality playable demo, as many festivals require one for entry and use it as the primary vehicle for user engagement.

PlayStation 5 Owners Prefer Boxed Games to Downloads

During the first ten months of the PlayStation 5’s lifecycle, from November 2020 through August 2021, consumer data indicates a clear preference for physical media over digital downloads.

• PlayStation 5 owners prefer physical games, with GSD data showing three boxed games sold for every two digital downloads in the console's first ten months (November 2020 - August 2021).
• By August 2021, approximately two million physical PS5 games were sold, which is 51% higher than digital units, a gap that has increased from 26% in December 2020.
• Factors contributing to the preference for physical PS5 games include their high price ($70), the desire to build a physical library, the ability to resell or lend games, and the current lack of an extensive digital back catalog for the relatively new console.

Success Through Localization: A Look Into the Japanese Version of State of Survival

The successful relaunch of the 4X strategy game State of Survival in Japan demonstrates the critical impact of localized content on mobile game performance.

• The Japanese version of State of Survival achieved a top 100 grossing rank on the Japanese iOS market, more than doubling the revenue performance of the previous global version which had stagnated between ranks 300–500.
• The localized launch was supported by a pre-registration campaign that attracted over 600,000 sign-ups and utilized high-profile marketing, including a television commercial featuring actor Tatsuya Fujiwara.
• Localization strategy focused on cultural relevance rather than structural changes, featuring two exclusive Japanese heroes—Kaya and Nanami—complete with custom introductory cutscenes and traditional musical scores.

Superstar Session: The State of Play: Blockchain Gaming in 2021

The blockchain gaming sector underwent a transformative expansion throughout 2021, characterized by a 4,300% year-on-year increase in daily active wallets interacting with gaming smart contracts by August.

• Blockchain gaming experienced massive growth in 2021, marked by a 4,300% year-on-year increase in daily active wallets interacting with gaming smart contracts by August.
• The play-to-earn model, driven largely by the economic impact of Axie Infinity in emerging markets, propelled blockchain games to surpass decentralized finance applications in total traffic.
• The industry is currently transitioning toward a decentralized virtual layer, utilizing in-game NFTs, virtual land, and brand partnerships to establish gaming as a pillar of the decentralized economy.

Apple Arcade Former Head of Content Reportedly Becomes New VP of PlayStation’s Mobile Division

This summary covers two distinct developments regarding Sony’s strategic shifts and legal challenges within the gaming industry.

• The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative has joined a class-action lawsuit in the Netherlands against Sony, alleging that the PlayStation Store artificially inflates digital game prices by an average of 47% compared to physical editions.
• Plaintiffs in the Dutch lawsuit claim that consumers in the Netherlands have overpaid approximately 435 million euros for digital games on the PlayStation Store since 2013.
• Activists argue that Sony’s planned cessation of physical game disc production by 2028 will create an illegal monopoly, and they are seeking compensation for affected gamers alongside the establishment of fair pricing and market alternatives.

When Lambo: Axie's $152M Raise and Amazon's Content Curse

The gaming industry is currently experiencing a period of unprecedented financial abundance, characterized by record-breaking venture capital investment and high consumer spending.

• The gaming industry saw record venture capital investment in the first nine months of 2021, with approximately $9 billion raised across nearly 500 deals.
• Sky Mavis secured $152 million in Series B funding at a $3 billion valuation, yet Axie Infinity's sales volume dropped 39% from $848 million in August to $518 million in September 2021.
• Amazon’s New World reached over 900,000 concurrent players, marking a significant milestone for the company after previous failures like Crucible.

How the Games Industry M&A Frenzy is Making New Genre Leaders in Mobile

The mobile gaming industry is experiencing a significant transformation driven by aggressive merger and acquisition activity, which is enabling major publishers to rapidly secure leadership positions across diverse genres.

• The mobile gaming industry is experiencing a significant M&A frenzy, driven by a maturing market, a lockdown-induced bump, and intense competition, allowing major publishers to quickly become genre leaders.
• EA became the No. 1 mobile Sports games publisher by U.S. revenue ($176 million) and the No. 1 Lifestyle games publisher ($123 million) between January 1 and August 31, 2021, largely due to its acquisitions of Glu Mobile and Playdemic.
• Activision Blizzard (including King) maintained its position as the No. 1 publisher in the Puzzle genre, generating approximately $873 million in U.S. player spending from January 1 to August 31, 2021, with Candy Crush Saga performing strongly.

Indie Developer Arnold Rauers’s Revenue Increased by 41% After Adopting Free-to-Play Model

The transition to a free-to-play (F2P) model significantly impacted the financial performance of mobile games developed by Arnold Rauers, the founder of the indie studio Tinytouchtales.

• Indie developer Arnold Rauers (Tinytouchtales) saw a 41% increase in total revenue on the App Store after transitioning his portfolio of six mobile games to a free-to-play model in August 2021.
• The transition to free-to-play resulted in a 280% increase in total iOS downloads for the studio's titles.
• Performance varied by title: while Card Crawl revenue grew by 168%, Card Thief revenue experienced a slight decline of 1% despite maintaining the highest download volume.

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened Rakes in $22.7M in First Week: China

The provided text covers two distinct developments within the global gaming industry, focusing on market performance in China and strategic investments in game engine technology.

• NetEase and Portkey Games' 'Harry Potter: Magic Awakened' generated $22.7 million in its first week on the Chinese iOS App Store, successfully dethroning Tencent's titles from the top revenue spot.
• The game achieved over 2.8 million iOS downloads in its debut week, marking the first time a non-Tencent title has held the number one spot for more than seven consecutive days since 2016.
• Tencent has led an $18 million investment round in W4 Games to accelerate the development and corporate adoption of the Godot engine.

43% of Users Consent to Their Personal Data Being Tracked on iOS Games Globally

Research conducted by GameAnalytics provides insight into user behavior regarding Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework within the mobile gaming sector.

• Starting October 1, 2026, Apple will reduce App Store commissions in the EU, offering rates of 26% for standard payments, 20% for third-party payment systems, 15% for external payment links, and 5% for apps downloaded from alternative stores or websites.
• Small Business Program participants, as well as those in the Mini Apps and Video Partner programs, will benefit from reduced commission rates of 10% for third-party payment systems and external payment links in the EU.
• A 2021 GameAnalytics study of 121 million iOS 14.5+ users found a 43% global opt-in rate for personal data tracking in mobile games, significantly higher than the 15% rate reported by Flurry for all app categories.

KRAFTON Investor Relations Presentation: August 2021

The global gaming landscape is currently defined by the rapid ascent of the battle royale genre, which achieved a valuation of $14.7 billion by 2020 and accounted for nearly 30 percent of total industry growth over the preceding three years.

Xbox Game Pass Subscription Market Insights

Market analysis from August 2021 highlights the continued dominance of Xbox Game Pass within the subscription gaming sector.

• The Stellar Blade demo reached a peak of 690,000 daily active users (DAU) upon its March 29, 2024 release, nearly doubling the 380,000 peak DAU recorded by the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth demo.
• Shift Up, the developer of Stellar Blade, reported 2023 revenue of $125 million, a 154.5% year-over-year increase, and an operating profit of $82.4 million, up 516%.
• As of August 2021, Xbox Game Pass maintained its position as the most active game subscription service, with 27% of its library consisting of new additions and 30% of titles being removed during that month.