North America reports and market data
Documents
Casual Gaming in H1 2024: Tough Competition and New Opportunities
The mobile casual gaming market in Tier-1 Western countries—comprising the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany—experienced an 11% year-over-year revenue increase in the first half of 2024, reaching $7.2 billion.
- The mobile casual gaming market in Tier-1 Western countries grew 11% year-over-year in H1 2024, reaching $7.2 billion in total revenue.
- Revenue growth is increasingly driven by sophisticated monetization and LiveOps strategies rather than pure download volume, as the industry navigates post-pandemic cooling and IDFA privacy constraints.
- The Sort Puzzle genre is the fastest-growing segment, recording a twelve-fold year-over-year revenue increase.
Canada’s Video Game Industry: Powering the Future of Play
Canada’s video-game industry is portrayed as a mature, high-value sector that now consists of 821 firms employing roughly 34,000 full-time workers and delivering a $5.1 billion economic impact.
- Canada’s video game industry supports 34,000 full-time jobs and generates a $5.1 billion economic impact, with direct labour income reaching $3.5 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
- While the total number of firms contracted by 9% since 2021, this decline was limited to micro-studios, while studios with 51 or more employees remained stable or grew.
- The sector achieved a $356 million operating surplus in 2023-24, reflecting a 7% profit margin.
Association Canadienne du Logiciel de Divertissement Rapport Annuel 2024
The 2024 annual review presents a comprehensive assessment of Canada’s video-game sector, emphasizing its expanding regulatory influence, economic contribution and strategic diversification.
- The Canadian video game sector contributed $5.5 billion to the national GDP in 2024, supported by a resilient, virtual-first operational model.
- The industry successfully secured exemptions from the Streaming Act levy and the Online Harms Act, signaling significant growth in its regulatory and political influence.
- Major global publishers including Epic Games, Roblox, and Tencent joined the association, driving revenue beyond forecasts and expanding the sector's reach.
Mobile Gaming Spender Report: Decoding Today’s Mobile IAP Spenders to Understand Motivations, Engagement
The 2024 Mobile Gaming Spender Report by Mistplay examines the evolving motivations, behaviors, and shifting financial priorities of mobile in-app purchase (IAP) spenders.
- Economic headwinds are driving a contraction in spending, with 32% of all mobile spenders and 41% of high-value spenders planning to reduce their in-game expenditures in 2024.
- Value-driven incentives are critical for retention, as 51% of spenders would increase their spending if they earned tangible rewards or points for their purchases.
- Loyalty programs and hyper-personalization are essential engagement tools, with 79% of spenders engaging with loyalty programs and 40% influenced by personalized offers.
Mobile Game Market Review: November 2023
This market review analyzes mobile gaming trends and performance for November 2023, focusing on the United States and Chinese markets.
- Midcore mobile titles are increasingly gating core event gameplay and story missions behind paywalls, as seen in Free Fire’s Luminous Pass and State of Survival’s Resident Evil collaboration.
- The casual gaming sector is experiencing widespread mechanical imitation, specifically the adoption of 'Social Win Streak' and 'Digging Minigame' features by major titles like Monopoly GO! and Matchington Mansion.
- The 3D match subgenre is seeing rapid expansion and increased competition from industry leaders, with King and Peak launching Candy Crush 3D and Match Factory to challenge the success of Triple Match 3D.
Inside Scopely: Monopoly Go, Stumble Guys, & Its Future
Scopely has emerged as the leading mobile gaming company in the United States, achieving significant scale through a combination of strategic acquisitions and the development of high-performing titles.
- Scopely has tripled its revenue over the past 30 months and now employs over 2,000 people following its $4.9 billion acquisition by Savvy Games Group.
- The company is shifting its strategic focus from mobile-only development to cross-platform expansion, specifically targeting PC and console markets.
- Monopoly GO! serves as the company's primary growth engine, utilizing social mechanics to achieve industry-leading player retention and organic virality.
How to take advantage of Canada's buisness environment and Montreal's creative talent pool
Canada has solidified its position as a premier global destination for video game development, currently ranking third worldwide with a network of over 1,000 studios and a workforce of approximately 60,000 professionals.
- Canada ranks third globally in video game development, supporting over 1,000 studios and a workforce of approximately 60,000 professionals.
- Montreal is the industry's primary hub, hosting more than 300 studios and 19,000 specialized workers.
- The region offers a competitive multimedia tax credit providing up to 37.5 percent cash-back on developer salaries.
How 100 Thieves is Building Beyond Esports
100 Thieves functions as a diversified gaming lifestyle brand, deliberately moving beyond the traditional esports model to establish a sustainable, multifaceted business.
- 100 Thieves is diversifying its revenue streams beyond esports by operating independent business units, including the apparel brand Higround and the energy drink line Juvee.
- The company is shifting its business model from aggressive, unchecked growth toward a strategy focused on operational sustainability and strict fiscal discipline.
- To ensure long-term viability, 100 Thieves advocates for publishers to spin off esports divisions into independent, third-party operated entities to better align commercial incentives.
Steel Media’s Dave Bradley On The Highlights Of PGC Toronto
Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto has solidified its position as a vital hub for the global games industry, drawing approximately 700 attendees and 110 speakers during its second annual iteration.
- Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto's second annual event attracted approximately 700 attendees and 110 speakers, reinforcing its role as a hub for mobile, web3, and virtual production.
- Industry strategy is shifting away from aggressive user acquisition toward player retention and live operations, necessitating specialized expertise in monetization and community management.
- The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list is prioritizing cultural impact and long-term industry contribution as key metrics over traditional financial performance.
Intro to event - Chris James, Steel Media Ltd.
The Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto 2023 event, hosted by Steel Media Ltd, serves as a strategic forum for the global games industry, focusing on market trends, investment landscapes, and technological evolution.
- The gaming industry experienced a 4% market contraction in 2022, ending a 25-year streak of consistent growth, though the long-term outlook remains bullish.
- Industry development is shifting toward cross-platform integration, bridging the gap between mobile-first companies and traditional AAA studios.
- Artificial intelligence is currently transforming the sector by optimizing development workflows, enhancing NPC behavior, and facilitating creative ideation.
Panel: Levelling up: How can Blockchain Help Upgrade the Gaming Experience?
Blockchain technology serves as a transformative tool for the gaming industry by facilitating true digital ownership, verifiable scarcity, and secondary market liquidity for in-game assets.
- The primary objective for blockchain integration must remain high-quality, engaging gameplay, as players prioritize entertainment value over the underlying technical architecture.
- Industry strategy is shifting toward a 'web 2.5' model that combines traditional, centralized creative leadership with tokenized economies to balance innovation with proven design principles.
- Mass adoption requires the abstraction of complex blockchain processes, such as gas fees and wallet management, to ensure a seamless user experience that does not impede core gameplay.
Your Game Will Suck Without Zero Knowledge Proofs - Frank Chen, Aleo
Decentralized gaming aims to eliminate the need for trusted third parties, protecting players from asset theft, data surveillance, and arbitrary service termination.
- Zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs are essential for decentralized gaming because they enable players to verify moves and game states without exposing private data or strategies.
- Public blockchain ledgers are currently unsuitable for genres like real-time strategy, shooters, and card games because they expose player inputs, which ruins games reliant on imperfect information.
- Existing privacy solutions are inadequate: trusted execution environments rely on vulnerable hardware, fully homomorphic encryption is too computationally intensive, and commit-and-reveal schemes lack long-term privacy.