The Game

Plus: Resident Evil Looms Large, Twitch Trends Galore

Analysis of global gaming trends for late April and early May 2021 reveals significant momentum for major franchises and breakout indie titles across Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Twitch.

• Resident Evil Village is positioned as a major commercial success, supported by over 60,000 Steam followers and an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 wishlists.
• NieR Replicant recovered from initial technical criticism to reach an estimated one million units sold on Steam, demonstrating the resilience of high-profile titles.
• The Naraka Bladepoint Steam beta achieved significant engagement, peaking at over 120,000 concurrent users.

Kadokawa Fact Sheet for the Full-Year Ended March 31, 2021

The Kadokawa Fact Sheet for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, provides a comprehensive financial overview of the company’s performance, detailing consolidated profit and loss, segment-specific results, balance sheet data, and cash flow statements.

CyberAgent Q1 Fiscal Year 2021 Quarterly Report

CyberAgent’s fiscal year 2021 first-quarter report, covering the period from October 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, details the company’s financial performance amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

• CyberAgent reported consolidated net sales of 131.01 billion yen for Q1 FY2021, a 13.3% year-over-year increase, while net income attributable to owners rose 101.3% to 2.93 billion yen.
• The Internet Advertising segment achieved record-high sales of 76.59 billion yen, marking a 13.8% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
• The Media business grew sales by 67.0% to 20.43 billion yen, though it sustained an operating loss of 3.93 billion yen due to continued heavy investment in the ABEMA platform.

The Game Industry of Finland 2020

The Finnish game industry has transitioned from a hobbyist niche into the nation’s largest cultural export, maintaining an annual turnover exceeding €2 billion for six consecutive years.

• The Finnish game industry generated €2.4 billion in turnover in 2020, marking six consecutive years of exceeding the €2 billion threshold.
• Industry stability has improved as Supercell’s share of total turnover declined to 54%, supported by a maturing 'middle class' of 46 studios each generating over €1 million annually.
• Despite a consolidation in the number of active studios to approximately 200, the sector reached a record high of 3,600 professional employees.

Looking Back at 2020: UK Games Fund

The UK Games Fund’s 2020 retrospective highlights the resilience and growth of the British independent game development sector despite the operational challenges posed by the global pandemic.

• The UK Games Fund achieved its highest volume of new studio additions in a single year during 2020, supported by both the Round 6 grant awardees and four teams graduating from the Tranzfuser program.
• The virtual Tranzfuser showcase, ProtoPlay, attracted nearly 1,400 visitors and provided professional development for 27 participating teams.
• Four specific Tranzfuser teams—Knights of Borria, Wordplay, Offbrand, and Chimera Tales—transitioned into the UK Games Fund portfolio for commercial development support.

Superstar Session: Game Development 101 Opening Ceremony

The Game Development 101 session at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4, held in November 2020, served as a platform to highlight the decade-long evolution of the Jordanian gaming ecosystem.

• The global gaming industry has reached a valuation of approximately $170 billion, establishing itself as a vital, high-growth economic pillar rather than a trivial pursuit.
• Jordan is positioning itself as a strategic hub for the MENA region by leveraging infrastructure and partnerships with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) to connect local talent with international publishers.
• The App Challenge educational program targets students aged 14 to 16, providing intensive training in tools like Unity to transition youth into professional game development roles.

The Game Incubation Landscape in Europe: Appraisal of the BSR in the European Context

The European game incubation landscape functions as a critical pillar of regional economic development, operating primarily through a mix of public subsidies, academic partnerships, and private-sector initiatives.

• The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) has 24 game-focused incubators and accelerators, with half located in Sweden (6) and Finland (6). Nearly 40% (9) of these programs were established in the last three years, indicating a recent trend.
• Most BSR incubation programs prioritize supporting regional ecosystem development and university students/alumni.
• Governments are crucial for fostering an environment where incubator capacity-building initiatives can thrive, by adopting laws and regulations that promote research, development, and entrepreneurship.

Kadokawa Financial Results: Six Months Ended September 30, 2020

The financial results for Kadokawa Corporation for the six-month period ending September 30, 2020, provide a comprehensive overview of the company’s performance across its core business segments.

Summary of Main Supplementary Explanations Questions and Answers at the FY2021 First Quarter GREE Results Briefing Held on October 27, 2020

GREE’s financial performance for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 reflects a strategic pivot toward business portfolio restructuring and cost optimization.

• GREE achieved quarter-over-quarter growth in net sales and operating income, driven by the July 2020 global launch of SINoALICE and a reduction in fixed costs.
• Annual development costs for the Game business are projected to stabilize between 7.5 billion and 8.5 billion yen.
• Operating income for the second quarter of fiscal year 2021 is forecasted to remain between 0.5 billion and 1.0 billion yen, accounting for the tapering of SINoALICE revenue and seasonal increases in development spending.

The Game Developer's Guide to iOS 14: Expectations & Preparations

The introduction of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework represents a significant shift in mobile privacy, moving permission management from the device level to the individual app level.

• Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework mandates that developers obtain explicit user consent to access the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), which is critical for user acquisition, retargeting, and ad monetization.
• Approximately 30% to 40% of users in major markets like the United States already have 'Limit Ad Tracking' enabled, meaning they will not receive the ATT prompt and will effectively opt out of IDFA tracking by default.
• Because the ATT prompt can only be displayed once per app, developers must strategically determine the optimal timing and placement to maximize consent rates while minimizing user churn.

FY2020 Consolidated Financial Results [Japanese GAAP]

CyberAgent achieved significant financial growth during the 2020 fiscal year, reporting net sales of ¥478.6 billion, a 5.5% increase over the previous year.

• CyberAgent reported FY2020 net sales of ¥478.6 billion, a 5.5% year-over-year increase, while profit attributable to shareholders surged 289.9% to ¥6.6 billion.
• The Game Business served as the primary profit driver, generating ¥30.3 billion in operating income through a combination of established smartphone titles and new releases.
• The Media Business recorded an operating loss of ¥18.3 billion due to sustained strategic investment in the ABEMA streaming platform, despite a 22.6% increase in segment sales.

Raport Bieżący Nr 25/2020: Liczba Graczy Oczekujących na Zakup Gier (Steam Wishlist)

PlayWay S.A. identifies the Steam wishlist as the primary indicator of sales potential for PC titles, utilizing this metric to gauge market interest across its entire capital group.

• As of July 12, 2020, PlayWay S.A. reported a consolidated Steam wishlist exceeding 8.16 million entries across its portfolio of released and upcoming titles.
• House Flipper is the group's strongest asset, maintaining 783,000 wishlist entries, followed by Thief Simulator with 417,000 entries.
• Established titles including Car Mechanic Simulator 2018, Cooking Simulator, and UBOAT continue to hold significant consumer interest, ranging between 269,000 and 333,000 wishlist entries post-launch.