Global

The 2018 corporate‑responsibility overview for Modern Times Group (MTG) reflects a year of strategic realignment following the spin‑off of its Nordic Entertainment and Studios businesses into the newly listed Nordic Entertainment Group. The core thesis is that MTG’s renewed focus on esports, gaming and broader digital ventures can be pursued responsibly through four pillars—media responsibility, social impact, business ethics and environmental care—underpinned by materiality analyses for both entities and a suite of stakeholder‑driven priorities such as gender diversity, inclusion, GDPR compliance and the protection of minors.

Financially, MTG reported net sales in the range of 15‑20 billion SEK and achieved an 89 % completion rate for mandatory ethics e‑learning. Risk management was strengthened by publishing event‑security guidance adopted by eight of twenty‑one partners, and by prioritising attendee safety at esports tournaments. Social contributions included a $18 k donation to UCSF, multi‑million‑dollar fundraising for Save the Children and the Diabetes Foundation, and the launch of education programmes targeting young gamers. Governance was reinforced through board oversight, external audits and memberships in more than a dozen industry bodies—including the IGDA, Esports Integrity Coalition and MESA—facilitating continuous stakeholder engagement via surveys, focus groups and board‑level dialogues.

Environmental reporting showed a total carbon footprint of 25,215 t CO₂e, a 7 % year‑on‑year increase, while energy intensity fell sharply from 66 GJ per employee in 2016 to 40 GJ in 2018. Scope 3 emissions from events are now being captured, and no fines were recorded for direct energy use,

The global gaming industry experienced a significant shift in 2017 as mobile gaming solidified its dominance over traditional platforms. Mobile consumer spending exceeded the combined total of home consoles, PC, Mac, and handheld consoles by more than one-third, representing a substantial increase from the single-digit margin recorded in 2016. While games accounted for less than 40% of total mobile app downloads, they generated nearly 80% of combined consumer spend on the iOS App Store and Google Play. This growth was primarily driven by the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, Japan, and South Korea, which accounted for over 60% of all mobile game spending.

A critical trend identified throughout the year was the rise of live player-versus-player (PvP) and cooperative gameplay. For the first time in mobile history, the top two grossing games on both major app stores featured live PvP elements, a shift influenced by PC gaming heritage and the rising popularity of esports. In the United States, survey data from 3,991 gamers revealed that those engaging in live PvP or co-op modes skewed younger and male, played more hours per week, and were significantly more likely to spend money on titles compared to those playing single-player or turn-based games.

The handheld console market also reflected this shift toward multiplayer engagement, with four of the top five grossing titles supporting live PvP or co-op. Despite the continued strength of the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, the industry began transitioning toward hybrid and mobile platforms, evidenced by major franchises like Pokémon moving away from dedicated handhelds. Analysts concluded that the maturation of live multiplayer engagement, bolstered by the emergence of the battle royale genre, would remain the primary driver for industry growth and monetization moving into 2018.

The 2018 mobile gaming benchmark study analyzes performance across more than 60 000 titles that each attract at least 1,000 daily users, drawing on data from 850 million monthly active players over a full calendar year (July 2017‑June 2018). The methodology employs a dual presentation: an overall yearly view and genre‑specific breakdowns, with green, yellow, and red bands indicating top 15 %, median, and underperforming levels.

Retention metrics reveal that day‑28 retention peaks during the “cold and boring quarter” before Christmas, with top performers achieving 6.5‑7 % retention versus a median of only 1.5 %. Card, Casino, and Word games lead the field, each exceeding 6 % retention; Board and Trivia also perform well. Average session length follows a similar seasonal pattern, reaching roughly 15 minutes for top titles in winter compared to a median of 6.5 minutes, especially within Casino and Card genres where holiday engagement is strongest.

Monetization data show role‑playing games dominate ARPDAU, with leading titles earning 6–7 times the median and bottom performers generating none. Strategy games also outperform most other genres, achieving about twice the ARPDAU and conversion rates of their peers. Daily conversion rates for top‑15 % titles hover around 1.2 %, while the median sits near 0.4 % and bottom performers near 0.1 %.

The case study of Voodoo illustrates how a data‑driven acquisition and monetization pipeline can scale an indie studio into a top publisher. By scraping Play Store data, analyzing D1/D7 retention through GameAnalytics, and rapidly iterating on high‑potential titles, Voodoo launched multiple hits such as Paper.io (20 M+ downloads) and Helix Jump (310 M+). Rigorous KPI tracking and real‑time analytics enabled the studio to publish simultaneously while minimizing risk, demonstrating a scalable model for high‑performing mobile game portfolios.

The iOS App Store underwent a profound transformation between 2010 and 2018, evolving from a nascent marketplace into a mature global economy characterized by massive revenue growth and a shift in monetization strategies. During this period, the platform facilitated over 170 billion downloads and generated $130 billion in consumer spend. While download volume grew at a steady compound annual growth rate of 15%, revenue surged at 52%, signaling a highly lucrative ecosystem where nearly 10,000 individual apps reached at least $1 million in annual consumer spend by 2017.

The gaming sector emerged as the primary economic engine of the platform, accounting for 75% of total consumer spend despite representing only 31% of total downloads. This financial dominance was mirrored by a fundamental shift in business models, as the industry moved away from paid downloads—which fell to less than 1% of the market—toward free-to-play mechanics and in-app subscriptions. Clash of Clans and Netflix established themselves as the all-time leaders in consumer spend for games and non-games respectively, while Facebook maintained the highest volume of total downloads.

Geographically, the center of the app economy shifted toward the Asia-Pacific region, which now accounts for nearly 60% of global iOS revenue. China, in particular, experienced a meteoric rise, overtaking the United States in 2016 to become the world’s largest market for both downloads and spending. This regional growth was largely propelled by domestic tech giants such as Tencent, Baidu, and NetEase. As the marketplace continues to mature, data-driven insights from providers like App Annie remain essential for businesses navigating this complex, multi-billion dollar landscape.

The mobile gaming landscape between July 2017 and June 2018 was characterized by a widening performance gap between elite titles and the market median. Analysis of over 60,000 games and 850 million monthly active players reveals that top-tier titles in the 15th percentile maintain Day 1 retention rates exceeding 35%, whereas Day 28 retention across the board rarely surpasses 6%. This retention decay underscores the difficulty of long-term player engagement, leading industry leaders like Voodoo to implement strict 50% Day 1 retention thresholds to identify potential hits early in the development cycle.

Monetization metrics further illustrate this disparity, with top-performing games generating three to four times more revenue per paying user than average titles. The Role Playing, Strategy, and Casino genres dominate financial benchmarks, with elite performers achieving an average revenue per paying user of up to $40. Furthermore, the average revenue per daily active user for top-tier games is six times higher than the median, a success largely attributed to sophisticated A/B testing of price points and the implementation of reactive in-game offers.

As mobile games are projected to account for 76% of global app revenue, the ability to convert and retain players remains the primary differentiator for commercial success. While average games struggle with low conversion rates, top-performing titles achieve conversion metrics triple those of the median. These findings suggest that data-driven development and aggressive optimization of monetization funnels are essential requirements for competing in a market where the majority of value is concentrated among a small percentage of high-performing titles.

This analysis examines the growth and performance of the Google Play Store over a nearly seven-year period, spanning from January 2012 to August 2018. Utilizing data from the App Annie platform, the findings track the evolution of the Android ecosystem from its early stages to a mature marketplace featuring over 2.8 million available apps. During this timeframe, the platform recorded nearly 330 billion total downloads and generated over $85 billion in consumer spend, with more than 5,000 individual apps surpassing the $1 million revenue milestone.

Geographic trends reveal a significant divide between volume and value. India leads the world in total downloads at 36.9 billion, followed closely by the United States and Brazil. However, Japan emerges as the most lucrative market, contributing $25.1 billion in consumer spend, significantly outpacing the United States and South Korea. The data highlights a shift in monetization strategies, particularly the 2017 transition toward in-app subscriptions. This change, supported by a reduction in Google’s transaction fees for long-term subscribers, resulted in a 55% growth in spend for non-gaming apps between 2016 and 2017.

The competitive landscape is dominated by major social media and gaming entities. Facebook-owned properties occupy the top four spots for all-time downloads, while LINE and Tinder lead in non-gaming consumer spend. In the gaming sector, Subway Surfers is the most downloaded title, but GungHo Online’s Puzzle & Dragons and Mixi’s Monster Strike lead in total revenue. Looking forward, the analysis projects continued aggressive growth, estimating that annual consumer spend on Google Play will reach $42 billion by 2022, a 90% increase from 2017 levels.

The 2017 State of the Game Industry report provides a comprehensive snapshot of the global development landscape leading into the 31st Game Developers Conference. Based on a survey of over 4,500 professional game developers, the data primarily reflects the perspectives of "journeyman" creators in North America (67%) and Europe (22%), with the largest segment of respondents (37%) possessing three to six years of industry experience.

The findings highlight a significant shift in the immersive technology sector, where the HTC Vive emerged as the leading platform for VR/AR development, surpassing the Oculus Rift in both current usage and future interest. While 61% of developers are not yet involved in VR, those who are have increasingly moved toward the Vive, which 40% of respondents expect to support for their next projects. Despite concerns regarding hardware costs and motion sickness—which affects 83% of developers to some degree—75% of the industry views VR and AR as a sustainable long-term business, with a plurality predicting that augmented reality will be the dominant immersive tech within twenty years.

In the broader platform market, PC (53%) and mobile (38%) remain the primary targets for development. Notably, Android (54%) surpassed iOS (51%) in developer interest for the first time in the survey's history. Regarding consoles, developers expressed cautious optimism for the Nintendo Switch, with 50% predicting it will outsell the Wii U. However, the industry remains divided on mid-cycle hardware refreshes like the PS4 Pro and Project Scorpio; while only 5% view them negatively, 41% remain undecided about their impact on the traditional "fixed-spec" benefits of console development.

Financially, the industry continues to lean toward independence, with 55% of projects funded by internal company resources and 54% of developers operating without a traditional publisher. Confidence in crowdfunding saw a slight decline, with 46% of respondents expressing no interest in the model. Conversely, confidence in eSports reached an all-time high, with 90% of developers affirming its long-term sustainability as it moves toward mainstream social acceptance.

Modern Times Group (MTG) presented a comprehensive overview of its corporate responsibility performance for 2017, positioning itself as a global digital‑entertainment leader with approximately 3,700 employees and net sales of €16‑17 billion SEK. The report emphasizes MTG’s commitment to “media for good,” detailing initiatives that safeguard children through parental controls, audio‑description (covering 15 % of output) and subtitles (89 % of output), and noting a decline in broadcast‑compliance complaints to 49, with none upheld by Ofcom. Recognition of its children’s programming was underscored by a Kristallen award.

Diversity and inclusion formed a central pillar of the strategy, with the workforce representing 59 nationalities and achieving near‑gender parity in Sweden and Finland (48 % women). The company set a 50/50 gender‑balance target for 2020, yet disclosed a persistent gender‑pay gap—women earned 66‑67 % of men’s basic salary, and female representation fell to 20 % at senior‑executive levels. Employee engagement remained high, reflected in an 84 % satisfaction rate and an 88 % sense of pride, while turnover stood at 16.5 %, driven primarily by male departures.

Environmental performance revealed a 49.7 % increase in total greenhouse‑gas emissions versus 2016, largely attributable to the inclusion of MTGx operations and air travel, which accounted for roughly 70 % of emissions. Excluding air travel, emissions declined 12 % year‑on‑year, and overall energy consumption dropped from 71,782 GJ in 2015 to 51,459 GJ in 2017. The group’s external gaming arm, alongside its esports and digital‑entertainment divisions, contributed to a diversified portfolio spanning Europe and North America.

Independent assurance by Ethos International confirmed compliance with GRI Core “in‑accordance” standards, identifying minor calculation errors and recommending enhancements in materiality analysis, equality and diversity focus, supplier code enforcement, and HR system integration. Stakeholder surveys and user testing were highlighted as effective mechanisms for aligning responsibility initiatives with customer expectations.