Origin
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Documents about Origin
Origin Point Games Wants to Put Africa’s Game Developers on the Global Stage
Origin Point Games (OPG) has launched a dedicated discovery platform designed to elevate African game developers onto the global stage.
- Origin Point Games (OPG) will broadcast its inaugural showcase on 12 November 2026 at 20:00 SAST to highlight African-developed games to a global audience.
- The showcase aims to address the underrepresentation of Africa's 54 countries in major industry presentations like Nintendo Direct, Sony’s State of Play, and Gamescom.
- All featured games were selected through a blind judging process conducted by an external board of industry veterans, including former executives from Sony PlayStation and Ubisoft.
The Rise of Chinese Gaming in 2024
The gaming industry in 2024 has witnessed a significant surge in the global influence of Chinese titles, extending well beyond the high-profile success of Black Myth: Wukong.
- Dungeon & Fighter: Origin has emerged as a top-tier revenue generator, frequently competing with Honor of Kings for the number one spot in worldwide mobile game revenue.
- Black Myth: Wukong maintains a dominant position as the top-earning game on the Steam platform.
- Tencent expanded the global reach of Honor of Kings in 2024, a title that has historically generated over $12 billion in net revenue and surpassed 350 million downloads.
Key Takeaways from Gamescom 2024
Gamescom 2024 served as a critical barometer for the current state of the global video game industry, highlighting a period of significant structural transition and economic recalibration.
- Black Myth: Wukong achieved 2.4 million concurrent players on Steam and sold over 10 million copies across all platforms, with 8 million units sold on Steam within its first 48 hours.
- Mobile game studio spending has declined significantly, forcing many vendors to pivot their focus toward PC and console developers to maintain budgets.
- The industry is entering a 'trough of disillusionment' regarding AI, with growing sentiment that the technology has plateaued or is currently overhyped in game development.
State of Mobile Gaming: 1H 2024
The mobile gaming industry experienced a period of stabilization during the first half of 2024, following a post-COVID decline.
- The global mobile gaming market has stabilized following a post-COVID decline, with 1H 2024 revenue plateauing at levels similar to 1H 2023, while downloads saw a modest 1–2% increase.
- Tier 1 Western markets outperformed other regions, recording a 7% revenue growth in the first half of 2024.
- Dungeon & Fighter: Origin dominated new releases, generating nearly $300 million in revenue exclusively on iOS in China.
Has the World Gone Bananas?
The gaming industry landscape as of mid-2024 is characterized by the dominance of established titles in mobile revenue and the emergence of unconventional engagement models on PC platforms.
- Dungeon & Fighter: Origin remains the #1 game in worldwide revenue, driven primarily by the Chinese market.
- Honkai: Star Rail rose to #2 in worldwide revenue following the release of its Version 2.3 update, 'Farewell, Penacony.'
- The Steam game 'Banana' reached over 917,000 concurrent users by utilizing a speculative business model where players collect and trade virtual banana skins on the Steam Marketplace.
Global Mobile Game Market Performance: March 2023
The March 2023 global mobile game landscape was dominated by anniversary celebrations and IP-driven releases, driving significant spikes in revenue, downloads, and advertising activity.
- Anniversary events and IP collaborations drove massive revenue spikes, exemplified by Uma Musume Pretty Derby’s 303.6% App Store revenue growth and PUBG Mobile’s 32.1% month-over-month increase on Google Play.
- Casual and puzzle games dominated the advertising landscape, accounting for 66.45% of total ad spend on mini-game platforms.
- High-volume creative strategies remain critical, with titles like Mighty Party utilizing video for over 90% of their thousands of deduplicated ad creatives.
The Path: Rafi Huezo and the Origin of OMIT
The profile examines the career trajectory of Rafi Huezo, a former marketing executive who transitioned from corporate roles at Procter & Gamble and Ciroc Vodka to founding OMIT, an esports organization built on the principles of diversity and inclusion.
- Rafi Huezo, a former marketing executive for Ciroc and Procter & Gamble, founded the esports organization OMIT with a core mission to prioritize diversity and inclusion for underrepresented talent.
- OMIT originated from Huezo’s personal experience as a content creator during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he grew a streaming channel to over 10,000 followers and 3,000 subscribers before transitioning into an organization.
- The organization supports its players by providing salaries, equipment, legal services, travel funding, and content production resources to help talent who were previously overlooked or excluded from the industry.
TikTok: Practical Advice for Big Discovery Wins
This analysis explores modern game discovery trends, focusing on the strategic use of TikTok for marketing and the financial viability of niche mobile game portfolios.
- TikTok serves as a potent discovery engine, with one case study demonstrating 120 million views resulting in 60,000 Steam wishlists.
- Success on TikTok requires a 'messy' and personal aesthetic, prioritizing 1-3 second hooks and on-screen captions over high-production trailers.
- Viral engagement on social platforms does not guarantee financial success, as evidenced by a project that only slightly exceeded its $50,000 crowdfunding goal despite millions of views.
Global Mobile Games in July 2022: Stumble Guys Tops the Downloads Chart
Global mobile game activity in July 2022 was dominated by strong revenue, download and advertising performances across several titles.
- Stumble Guys became the top-downloaded mobile game in July 2022 with 8.7 million downloads, a 52.6% month-on-month increase driven largely by the U.S. market.
- Uma Musume Pretty Derby achieved a 57.5% month-on-month revenue increase on the App Store, fueled by high-profile collaborations with StarHorse 4 and The Idolmaster.
- Knives Out saw a 68.1% month-on-month revenue rebound on the App Store following strategic partnerships with major franchises including One Piece, EVA, and Sword Art Online.
Axie Infinity: Redemption or Ruin?
Axie Infinity currently faces an existential crisis characterized by a rapid, sustained erosion of its ecosystem.
- Axie Infinity is experiencing a critical ecosystem collapse, evidenced by a sustained loss of over 250,000 daily active users per month that the free-to-play Axie Origin update failed to reverse.
- The value of core ecosystem assets, including AXS tokens, SLP currency, and Axie NFTs, has plummeted between 82% and 99% from their historical peaks.
- The project's financial stability has severely deteriorated, with land NFT prices falling 94% from 2021 highs and the community treasury suffering an 81% write-down in total value.
What We Know About Axie Infinity: Origin So Far
The introduction of Axie Infinity: Origin represents a strategic pivot for Sky Mavis, aiming to transition the title from a niche play-to-earn model toward a mainstream, free-to-play (F2P) mobile card battler.
- Sky Mavis is launching 'Origin' (Battle V3) to pivot Axie Infinity toward a free-to-play (F2P) mobile card battler model, aiming to scale its userbase beyond the existing crypto-native audience.
- The update introduces three non-NFT starter Axies to lower the barrier to entry, replacing the previous requirement for new players to purchase three NFTs, which historically cost significantly more.
- To address SLP token inflation, Sky Mavis is implementing a new power-up system using 'Runes and Charms' that requires players to spend in-game resources and eventually SLP to enhance their Axies.
Overwatch League Finals Report
The Overwatch League (OWL) Grand Finals at the Barclays Center serve as a primary case study for the current state of the esports industry, demonstrating that high-budget, publisher-led competitive gaming can successfully cultivate a dedicated fanbase and diversify revenue streams.
- The esports sector is seeing significant capital investment, highlighted by Meg Whitman’s $100 million infusion into Immortals and Douyu’s pursuit of a $600 million to $700 million US listing.
- Publisher-led esports events like the Overwatch League Grand Finals demonstrate that high-budget production can successfully drive fan engagement, though traditional sports marketing formulas often fail to resonate with gaming audiences.
- Hasbro achieved a return to profitability by leveraging digital growth in Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, while Mattel faced revenue declines and workforce reductions.