August
Company
Documents about August
Embracer Group M&A Update: August 13, 2020
Embracer Group’s August 2020 update outlines a strategic expansion through aggressive mergers and acquisitions, formalizing its transition into a diversified conglomerate comprising six distinct operating groups.
- Embracer Group has transitioned into a conglomerate structure organized into six operating groups: THQ Nordic, Koch Media, Coffee Stain, Amplifier Game Invest, Saber Interactive, and DECA.
- The company employs a decentralized governance model that allows original founders and management teams to retain operational autonomy while utilizing centralized capital and strategic support.
- As of August 2020, the portfolio includes 43 internal studios, 55 external studios, and 190 intellectual properties.
Creative Industries Statistics: United Kingdom (August 2020)
The United Kingdom’s creative industries tax relief framework serves as a critical fiscal mechanism designed to incentivize sustainable, culturally significant production across film, television, gaming, and the arts.
- Since its introduction in 2007, Film Tax Relief (FTR) has supported 3,470 films, accounting for £18.4 billion in UK expenditure. In 2019-20 alone, 300 films claimed FTR with £2.5 billion in UK expenditure.
- High-End Television (HETV) Tax Relief, introduced in 2013, has supported 635 programmes with £5.9 billion in UK expenditure. In 2019-20, 110 programmes claimed HETV tax relief, totaling £1.5 billion in UK expenditure.
- Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) paid out an estimated £161 million for 2018-19, with 310 claims made by 270 companies. Since its introduction in 2014, the relief aims to promote sustainable production of culturally relevant video games in the UK.
Genre and Great Games Report
The Genre and Great Games Report serves as a comprehensive analysis of the mobile gaming landscape, designed to provide developers, marketers, and industry experts with actionable insights into player preferences and the feature sets defining successful titles.
- The 'Genre and Great Games Report' is a collaborative industry analysis produced by GameRefinery, Facebook Gaming, and Facebook IQ.
- The research is based on a comprehensive survey of over 13,000 mobile gamers.
- The report provides a cross-genre analysis of mobile gaming, covering market segments ranging from hyper-casual to midcore titles.
Mixi FY2021 First-Quarter Earnings Results Briefing Session
Mixi’s fiscal year 2021 first-quarter results demonstrate a robust performance in the Digital Entertainment segment, driven primarily by operational agility rather than a reliance on pandemic-related stay-at-home demand.
- Mixi’s Q1 FY2021 financial growth was driven by increased average revenue per user (ARPU) in the core title Monster Strike, despite monthly active user counts remaining stable compared to the previous year.
- Revenue gains in the Digital Entertainment segment were primarily attributed to strategic IP collaborations and the successful migration of promotional events to online formats.
- The company is diversifying beyond gaming by establishing a dedicated fund to accelerate the digital transformation of the live entertainment sector.
Electronic Arts 10-Q — Q2 FY2020 (August 2020)
Electronic Arts reported a solid Q2 FY2020 performance, with net revenue rising to $1.46 billion—an increase of 21% year-over-year and 24% on a constant-currency basis—largely driven by higher online-enabled game sales and expanding live-service revenue.
- Electronic Arts reported Q2 FY2020 net revenue of $1.46 billion, a 21% year-over-year increase driven by growth in online-enabled games and live services.
- Operating income reached $471 million with a 139% surge in cash flow from operations to $378 million, supported by a strong liquidity position of $4.01 billion in cash and equivalents.
- Revenue is increasingly driven by digital and recurring content, with extra-content sales from franchises like FIFA and Madden totaling $1.49 billion.
Rejestracja zmiany Statutu PlayWay S.A
This regulatory notification details the formal registration of amendments to the Articles of Association for PlayWay S.A., a prominent Polish video game developer and publisher.
- On August 3, 2020, the District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw officially registered amendments to the Articles of Association for PlayWay S.A. following a June 15, 2020, resolution.
- The Supervisory Board was expanded to a flexible size of five to seven members, with the exact number to be determined by the General Meeting.
- The Supervisory Board gained the authority to co-opt new members via resolution if the board size drops below the legal minimum, pending subsequent General Meeting approval.
How Big Is Your Game's Discord?
This analysis explores the role of Discord as a community-building tool for video games and examines broader trends in game discoverability and platform marketing as of August 2020.
- Steam’s automated wishlist notification emails are a primary driver of sales, but developers must offer a discount of at least 20% to trigger these notifications.
- Discord serves as a vital hub for player retention, with effectiveness extending beyond official developer-run servers to include community-led and partner-affiliated hubs.
- While major titles like Minecraft, Valorant, Fortnite, and Roblox dominate Discord activity, indie games such as Terraria, Risk of Rain 2, Deep Rock Galactic, and TemTem maintain disproportionately high engagement levels.
What Do TikTok and Grindr Have in Common?
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) serves as the primary regulatory mechanism for addressing national security concerns regarding foreign ownership of American technology companies.
- The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has the authority to review and force the divestiture of foreign-owned assets deemed a national security risk, as demonstrated by the 2019 order for Beijing Kunlun Tech to sell the dating app Grindr.
- TikTok faces potential forced divestiture of its U.S. operations because its parent company, ByteDance, is subject to Chinese government data requests and the app's acquisition of Musical.ly was completed without initial CFIUS oversight.
- An outright ban of an app in the U.S. is legally and mechanically difficult compared to other nations because the U.S. lacks a national-level firewall, requiring enforcement at the app store distribution level.
Code of Conduct
The IGEA Code of Conduct, revised in August 2020, establishes a comprehensive framework of mandatory behavioural standards for every individual associated with the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association—including employees, board members, contractors, volunteers, members, guests and visitors—across all IGEA offices…
- The IGEA Code of Conduct, effective since August 2020, mandates behavioral standards for all employees, board members, contractors, and visitors across all global operations and events.
- The policy establishes strict prohibitions against harassment, bullying, sexual misconduct, fraud, and corruption, while requiring the disclosure of conflicts of interest.
- Violations are subject to a tiered disciplinary process ranging from private reprimands to permanent bans, dismissal, or criminal prosecution.
Bushiroad Financial Report for First Three Quarters of Fiscal 2020
Bushiroad’s financial performance for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2020, covering the period from August 1, 2019, to April 30, 2020, reflects a period of top-line growth coupled with a contraction in profitability.
- Bushiroad reported net sales of 25,224 million yen for the first three quarters of fiscal 2020, marking a 7.2% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
- Profitability contracted significantly, with operating profit falling 11.4% to 2,214 million yen and net profit attributable to owners of the parent dropping 15.1% to 1,230 million yen.
- Total assets expanded substantially to 34,970 million yen from 24,136 million yen at the end of fiscal 2019, though the equity-to-asset ratio tightened from 46.9% to 36.8%.
Pokémon GO Has Best Year Ever in 2019
Pokémon GO achieved its most successful year since its 2016 launch, generating an estimated $894 million in gross player spending throughout 2019.
- Pokémon GO achieved its highest annual revenue since its 2016 launch, generating $894 million in gross player spending during 2019.
- The game ranked as the fifth highest-earning mobile game globally in 2019, trailing only behind titles like Candy Crush Saga and Honor of Kings.
- Revenue growth in 2019 was driven by consistent live operations and in-game events, specifically the introduction of Team Rocket in July, which led to $116 million and $126 million in revenue for August and September respectively.
Roblox Mobile Has Grossed More Than $1 Billion in Lifetime Revenue
The mobile iteration of the Roblox gaming platform has achieved a significant financial milestone, surpassing $1 billion in lifetime gross revenue.
- Roblox mobile has surpassed $1 billion in lifetime gross revenue across the App Store and Google Play.
- Apple users drive the majority of revenue, accounting for 76% of total earnings despite Google Play representing 75% of the 290 million total downloads.
- The United States is the primary market for the platform, contributing $677 million (67%) of total lifetime revenue, followed by Great Britain at $89 million (9%).