Assassin's Creed Jade

Misleading ads, Apple’s ‘mobile gaming headwinds’, Roblox results, PlayStudios shenanigans, more

• Apple reported ongoing 'mobile gaming headwinds' impacting App Store revenue growth, despite record-breaking total services revenue of $31.6 billion in Q4 2026.
• Roblox shares fell 19% following Q3 results, as the company struggles to replicate the 2025 success of breakout titles and shifts its algorithm to prioritize long-term retention over aggressive monetization.
• PlayStudios has shuttered four studios, cut 177 jobs, and discontinued 'Tetris Block Party'—which generated $8.1 million in IAP revenue since January 2025—while facing potential Nasdaq delisting.

State of Play 2024

The "State of Play 2024" report analyzes recent financial disclosures from major gaming companies to provide an overview of the current mobile games market.

• Take-Two Interactive reported that mobile now accounts for 52% of its earnings, surpassing its PC and console revenue combined, while achieving $100 million in cost savings following the restructuring of Zynga.
• Ubisoft’s mobile revenue experienced a significant decline, falling to 6% of total revenue in FY24 from 31% the previous year, with the release of Assassin’s Creed Jade delayed until 2025 or later.
• Tencent generated approximately $6.7 billion in games revenue last quarter and has publicly criticized app store platform fees, while signaling a strategic shift toward launching fewer, higher-quality titles.

Tencent to Focus More on In-house Titles, Deprioritizing Third-party IPs

Tencent is shifting its gaming strategy to prioritize in-house developed titles over those based on licensed third-party franchises, a move prompted by weaker-than-expected revenue growth in its gaming segments.

• Tencent is shifting its strategic focus toward in-house game development to improve profit margins by eliminating 15% to 20% royalty fees associated with third-party intellectual property.
• The company reported 609 billion yuan ($86 billion) in total 2023 revenue, but domestic gaming revenue declined by 3% in the fourth quarter, signaling a need for a new growth strategy.
• Tencent has launched the 'Spring Bamboo Shoots Project,' which allocates up to $42 million per project to incubate proprietary titles and reduce reliance on external licensing.

A Recurring Mystery: Who Is Making That Game?

This document, published in January 2024, investigates the recurring trend within the video game industry where publishers frequently obscure the identity of the development studios behind major upcoming titles.

• Major publishers are increasingly obscuring the identity of development teams for high-profile titles, such as Ubisoft’s 'Assassin’s Creed Jade', Sega’s recent franchise revivals, and Nintendo’s 'Super Mario RPG' remake.
• The mobile gaming market experienced a downturn in 2023, with global consumer spending falling 2% to $107 billion and total downloads dropping by nearly two billion to 88 billion.
• Major tech and gaming companies have initiated significant layoffs in early 2024, including 1,800 job cuts at Unity (25% of staff) and 500 at Twitch (35% of staff).