Rogue
GameBy Epyx, Inc.
Documents about Rogue
Plus: Here Comes The Day Before, and We're Fascinated!
This analysis examines the state of the global PC and console gaming market during the transition between the 2023 Autumn and Winter sales.
- The Day Before remains a major market focal point with over 255,000 Steam followers despite significant development delays and skepticism.
- Steam's current market landscape is bifurcated between premium niche titles, such as Last Train Home and SteamWorld Build (2,900–4,250 CCU), and low-cost viral hits like HoloParade and My Suika.
- Console markets on PlayStation and Xbox remain dominated by evergreen franchises, specifically EA Sports FC 24, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and NBA 2K24.
Plus: What Were December's Top Grossing PC/Console Debuts?
Analysis of PC and console market performance for December 2023 reveals a highly concentrated landscape where a few breakout hits dominate total revenue.
- The December 2023 PC market was highly concentrated, with only two out of 1,147 Steam releases exceeding $10 million in gross revenue and just 28 titles surpassing $100k.
- The free-to-play shooter The Finals was the month's top performer, generating $23.5 million in gross revenue on Steam and reaching 5.8 million players across PlayStation and Xbox.
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader led the premium segment for December, achieving $12.5 million in gross revenue on Steam.
First Half 2023/24 Results
Nacon’s financial results for the first half of the 2023/24 fiscal year, covering the period from April 1 to September 30, 2023, reflect a transitional phase characterized by a back-weighted release schedule.
- Nacon reported H1 2023/24 sales of €67.8 million, a decline from €77.5 million in the prior year, primarily due to a 9% drop in new game sales caused by a sparse release schedule.
- Despite lower revenue, EBITDA rose 20.1% to €29.3 million, with the EBITDA margin expanding significantly from 31.4% to 43.2%.
- Operating income fell 62.7% to €3.7 million, driven by a sharp rise in depreciation and amortization charges to €25.6 million.
Infinite Reality, KOI Announce Amicable Separation
Metaverse company Infinite Reality and the Barcelona-based esports organization KOI have announced an amicable separation, concluding a strategic partnership established one year prior.
- Infinite Reality and esports organization KOI are ending their strategic partnership following the conclusion of Worlds 2023.
- Infinite Reality’s subsidiary, ReKTGlobal, will assume full ownership of the Carolina Royal Ravens (CDL), as well as its Rocket League, Rainbow Six: Siege, and LEC teams.
- KOI will take full control of its League of Legends LVP Superliga, FIFAe, and Valorant Champions Tour EMEA League teams, the latter pending Riot Games approval.
Chengdu-Based All Gamers Secures $1.37M in a Series B+ Financing Round
The Chengdu-based esports organization All Gamers (AG) has successfully secured over ¥10 million RMB, approximately $1.37 million USD, in a Series B+ financing round.
- Chengdu-based esports organization All Gamers (AG) raised over $1.37 million (¥10M RMB) in a Series B+ financing round.
- The funding round was led by Orinno Capital, a state-owned investment firm backed by the Chengdu Gaoxin District Holdings.
- All Gamers intends to use the capital to accelerate its IPO process, with a target completion date between 2025 and 2026.
First Half 2023/24 Interim Financial Report: Six Months Ended 30 September 2023
NACON experienced a transitional first half for the 2023/24 fiscal year, characterized by a strategic shift toward higher-margin digital sales despite a contraction in top-line results.
- NACON reported a 8.7% year-on-year decline in non-IFRS revenue to €70.8 million for the six months ended September 30, 2023, driven by a 12.7% drop in accessory sales and a 9.0% decrease in new software releases.
- Despite lower top-line revenue, EBITDA increased by 20.1% to €29.3 million, supported by a strategic expansion of the gross margin to 64.2%.
- Net income fell to €3.2 million from €8.4 million in the prior year, primarily due to higher depreciation and financing costs resulting from an intensive investment cycle.
Plus: ARK Survival Ascended's Stealth Drop Surprise
This analysis examines the performance of recent video game releases on Steam and other major platforms during late October 2023.
- Cities: Skylines II debuted with 105,000 concurrent users (CCU) but received 'Mixed' reviews due to severe optimization and frame-rate issues.
- ARK: Survival Ascended launched with 62,000 CCU, but faced a 42% positive review rating driven by technical performance complaints and a controversial exclusive server hosting deal with Nitrado.
- The co-op shooter Ripout underperformed significantly, failing to convert high wishlist numbers into active players with a peak of only 222 CCU.
Who's Top of Steam Next Fest for October 2023?
The October 2023 Steam Next Fest showcased a diverse range of PC titles, with survival and base-building mechanics emerging as dominant trends.
- Survival and base-building mechanics dominated the October 2023 Steam Next Fest, with the action-RPG Enshrouded leading the event by gaining over 14,300 new followers.
- Player interest is shifting toward 3D titles with realistic or gritty art styles, while traditional 2D and 'cozy' games saw decreased representation among the top 50 ranked demos.
- The number of Steam games grossing over $10,000 in their first three months increased from 1,271 in 2019 to 2,067 in 2022, though professional-level development ROI remains increasingly volatile due to market saturation.
First-Quarter 2023/24 Sales: Confirmation of 2023/24 Guidance
NACON reported consolidated sales of €38.5 million for the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year, representing a 9.3% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year.
- NACON reported Q1 2023/24 consolidated sales of €38.5 million, a 9.3% year-over-year decrease.
- The company confirmed its full-year 2023/24 guidance, projecting growth in both sales and operating income driven by an aggressive schedule of approximately 20 new title releases.
- Gaming software revenue remained stable at €27.4 million, with a 4.5% increase in new release revenue led by titles like Ravenswatch, Tour de France, and TT Isle of Man Ride on Edge 3.
Plus: Rogue Trader Smashes It as The Day Before Bombs
This analysis examines the performance of major video game releases during the second week of December 2023, focusing on Steam and console market trends.
- The Finals dominated the second week of December 2023 with 200,000 peak concurrent users (CCU) on Steam, despite facing minor community pushback regarding AI voice acting and movement mechanics.
- The Day Before experienced a catastrophic launch characterized by high refund rates and overwhelmingly negative reviews, despite initially reaching 38,000 peak CCU.
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader leveraged its strong IP and developer reputation in the CRPG genre to achieve a successful launch with over 31,000 peak CCU on Steam.
Doug Parsons Joins Moonrock
In April 2023, Doug Parsons joined the New York-based content marketing and media agency Moonrock as its new director of program management.
- Doug Parsons joined New York-based content marketing and media agency Moonrock as director of program management in April 2023.
- Parsons previously served as vice president of sales operations at Infinite Reality, a role he held following the company's July 2022 acquisition of ReKTGlobal until his departure in December 2022.
- During his five-year tenure at ReKTGlobal, Parsons held various leadership roles, including senior account manager and director of account management.
Annual Sales for FY 2022-23
Nacon reported consolidated sales of 156.4 million euros for the 2022-2023 financial year, representing a marginal increase of 0.3% compared to the previous period.
- Nacon reported total consolidated sales of 156.4 million euros for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, a marginal year-over-year increase of 0.3%.
- The video games division grew by 67.0% to 90.9 million euros, fueled by new releases like Blood Bowl 3 and a 44.9% increase in back catalogue performance.
- The accessories division declined by 36.6% to 61.2 million euros, primarily due to global hardware shortages affecting new-generation console availability.