August
Company
Documents about August
Pokémon Masters EX Catches $75 Million Player Spending in First Year
Pokémon Masters EX achieved $75 million in global player spending during its first year of operation, establishing itself as the second-highest grossing mobile title within the Pokémon franchise.
- Pokémon Masters EX generated $75 million in player spending during its first year, making it the second-highest grossing mobile title in the Pokémon franchise.
- A major content update and rebranding to Pokémon Masters EX on August 27, 2020, triggered a four-fold increase in weekly revenue to $5.4 million.
- Japan was the primary revenue driver for the title, accounting for $39.3 million or 52.7% of total first-year spending, followed by the U.S. at $17.5 million.
State of Mobile Battle Royale: Fortnite Leaves a $1.2 Billion Hole in the Market
The removal of Fortnite from the Apple App Store and Google Play on August 13, 2020, created a significant disruption in the mobile battle royale landscape, effectively removing a title that had generated $1.2 billion in lifetime player spending.
- Fortnite generated $1.2 billion in lifetime revenue on mobile before its removal from the App Store and Google Play on August 13, 2020.
- The vast majority of Fortnite's mobile revenue came from the App Store, which accounted for over $1.2 billion in spending compared to $9.7 million on Google Play.
- PUBG Mobile is the global leader in the mobile battle royale genre, having generated approximately $3.5 billion in player spending as of August 13, 2020.
Epic Advances, Steam Reviews, Oh My!
This analysis examines the evolving landscape of digital game distribution, focusing on financial transparency within the Epic Games Store (EGS) and refined metrics for estimating Steam sales.
- Epic Games paid over $210 million in minimum guarantee advances for its initial EGS exclusives, but these titles only recouped $80 million, a 38% recovery rate.
- The 'Boxleiter Ratio' for estimating Steam sales has been revised to a more conservative 30x multiplier for games released in 2020 and later, down from 38x, due to increased review frequency.
- Epic Games has shifted its strategy away from advance-based exclusivity deals toward a more open storefront model after finding that only a minority of titles, such as Snowrunner and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, achieved significant commercial success.
How Did Fall Guys Get It So Right?
The success of the multiplayer title Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout serves as a case study for effective game design and marketing strategy in the 2020s.
- Fall Guys achieved over 5 million Steam sales within 20 days of its August 2020 launch by prioritizing a simple, physics-based battle royale format.
- Mediatonic secured an immediate, massive player base by launching the title as part of the PlayStation Plus monthly lineup.
- The project was developed with a budget between $3 million and $6 million, utilizing a focused scope to ensure a polished experience while allowing for future content expansion.
Tim Epic vs. Tim Apple
This analysis examines the evolving landscape of video game distribution, platform economics, and developer revenue, with a specific focus on the August 2020 legal conflict between Epic Games and Apple.
- The 30% commission fee charged by major platform holders remains a primary point of financial tension for developers, as highlighted by the 2020 legal conflict between Epic Games and Apple.
- Independent developers frequently struggle to achieve profitability, as net revenue is significantly eroded by platform fees, taxes, and operational costs, often necessitating external funding or rapid development cycles.
- Digital storefronts, including Steam, the Epic Games Store, and console ecosystems, are shifting toward an interconnected, subscription-heavy model exemplified by services like Apple One and EA Play.
Square Enix Holdings 1Q FY2021/3 Financial Results Briefing
Square Enix Holdings reported strong financial performance for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, driven primarily by robust growth in its Digital Entertainment segment.
- Square Enix reported strong 1Q FY2021/3 results with net sales of ¥87.0 billion, a year-over-year increase of ¥33.7 billion, and operating income of ¥24.5 billion, up ¥17.4 billion.
- The Digital Entertainment segment drove the company's performance, generating ¥74.3 billion in net sales through successful console releases like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Trials of Mana, alongside growth in MMO subscriptions.
- The Amusement segment recorded an operating loss of ¥1.5 billion due to COVID-19-related facility closures in Japan, which caused a sharp decline in revenue.
Summary of Main Supplementary Explanations Questions and Answers at the FY2020 Fourth Quarter GREE Results Briefing Held on August 20, 2020
GREE’s financial performance for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 reflects a period of strategic transition and operational adjustment in response to global economic shifts.
- GREE projects fiscal year 2021 quarterly operating income to stabilize between ¥0.5 billion and ¥1.0 billion, with the first quarter expected to exceed ¥1 billion.
- The anticipated Q1 2021 earnings growth is primarily driven by the strong performance of the global version of the game title SINoALICE.
- Q4 2020 revenue and operating income declined quarter-on-quarter, largely due to pandemic-related weakness in the Advertising and Media segment and increased fixed costs.
Advertising During a Recession: 5 Innovative Marketing Practices
The primary purpose of this analysis is to provide actionable digital marketing strategies for businesses navigating economic downturns.
- Brands should segment their audience into four recessionary mindsets—'slam-on-the-brakes,' 'pained-but-patient,' 'comfortably well-off,' and 'live-for-today'—to tailor marketing strategies to varying levels of financial anxiety.
- Micro-moment marketing focuses on optimizing the first 0.05 seconds of a user's interaction with a website or app, as this brief window determines whether a customer stays or leaves.
- Animated video-storytelling serves as a non-obtrusive marketing tool to build brand connections, as demonstrated by Pipedrive’s use of Explain Ninja to create engaging, character-driven content.
Fortnite Removal From App Store and Google Play Causes Huge Decline in Revenue
The removal of Fortnite from the Apple App Store and Google Play in August 2020 represented a significant financial pivot for Epic Games, driven by a dispute over platform commission structures.
- Epic Games faces a monthly revenue loss exceeding $50 million following the removal of Fortnite from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Fortnite generated an estimated $350 million on the Apple App Store in 2020 prior to its removal.
- Since its launch on Google Play in April 2020, Fortnite earned approximately $3 million and recorded over 17 million downloads.
Remedy Entertainment Half-Year Review: 1 January - 30 June 2020
Remedy Entertainment demonstrated robust financial and operational growth during the first half of 2020, characterized by a 23 percent revenue increase to 17.0 million euros and an operating profit of 3.2 million euros.
- Remedy Entertainment achieved a 23 percent revenue increase to 17.0 million euros and an operating profit of 3.2 million euros during the first half of 2020.
- The company secured a publishing partnership with Epic Games that provides full funding for two upcoming multi-platform titles while allowing Remedy to retain full intellectual property ownership.
- The studio grew its workforce by 21 percent during the first half of 2020, reaching a total of 266 employees by the end of June.
What Should a Game Publishing Agreement Look Like?
This analysis provides a benchmark for indie game publishing agreements, utilizing data collected from 30 non-mobile indie game contracts.
- Developers typically receive a 60% revenue share, which fluctuates to 55% when an advance is provided and rises to 71% in no-advance deals.
- The average financial advance for indie game funding is $318,000, increasing to $460,000 when excluding contracts that offer no upfront capital.
- Approximately 18% of publishing agreements provide no advance, a structure that generally correlates with higher revenue shares for the developer.
Vacation-Based Dividends: Time Off in the Games Industry
The games industry operates on a seasonal cadence driven by major events and product deliverables, yet many organizations fail to align their labor practices with these natural fluctuations.
- Institutionalizing time off as a predictable dividend rather than a reactive measure is essential for retaining the highly specialized talent whose departure can cause eighteen-month recruitment and training setbacks.
- Major publishers like Riot Games and Epic Games have historically implemented company-wide breaks only as reactive responses to intense expansion or public scrutiny regarding crunch culture.
- Rapid valuation growth, such as Epic Games tripling its value to nearly $18 billion in two years, frequently leads to management errors that prioritize scale over employee well-being.