Playing out the bear case for generative AI’s impact on UGC platforms

Savvy Gaming Group will struggle to fulfill its goal of establishing Saudi Arabia as a hub for innovation and gaming

Key events and trends in gaming from 2022

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard faces steep regulatory hurdles

Browsers offer a future for game developers that would give mobile and PC developers the ability to circumvent any and all walled gardens

The belief that gaming can increase user retention and engagement is not limited to “traditional” subjects taught in schools

Blockchain gaming infrastructure must be built to solve relevant problems for players and developers

We believe that Apple’s efforts on the privacy side are positioning them for the launch of their own internal ads business

Games as a way to manage and build healthy lifestyles

We do not believe that location-based virtual reality will be a sustainable distribution channel for digital experiences

We believe there will be a shift back to hardware-driven strategies

By introducing game mechanics to increase engagement and monetization, dating applications are the perfect candidate for disruption

Gaming investment has not been immune to the global economic downturn

Although subscription services are growing meaningfully in adoption, consumers have high expectations

As a public company, Roblox has pressure from the public markets to optimize for earnings calls and top/bottom line growth

The future of analytics within gaming will be driven by tools that help developers understand their audiences in a deeper way

With XR continuing to gain popularity, Android has found a new and likely quite lucrative opportunity

We believe acquiring content will round out Amazon's development, marketing, and distribution capabilities to become a key tenant in gaming

We believe the winners in the space of digital identity adoption will enable a federated identity

We believe AppLovin will double down on its software business and will be aggressive in pursuing value-add acquisitions

Hypercasual is facing significant headwinds due to the business model’s misalignment with current advertising policies and user trends

The FTC’s scrutiny of Meta’s Within acquisition is inconsistent with the FTC’s track record we have seen within gaming

Ownership and re-selling creating a $1b gray market

There has been a notable increase in studios in the early stages of development self-branding their upcoming games as AAA

We focused on what two key antitrust bills could mean (if passed) for innovation in gaming

Halfway through 2022, we wanted to dive into how the gaming industry has fared so far this year

There may be an open door for a super-app to emerge from the gaming ecosystem that works for the West

One of game distribution’s key problems over the last 20 years: distribution is not built for the consumer

Despite its current market leadership position, we believe that Discord’s existing product leaves it vulnerable

In the future, we expect that the majority of gamers will have a consistent companion that accompanies them across virtual worlds

We believe there is a strong case for gaming to be viewed as “recession-resilient”

What if Nintendo had released a mobile phone and how it might have worked

We believe that Southeast Asia has the opportunity to be one of the most innovative markets globally

Balancing community-forward strategy with ensuring successful execution of a game’s economy

Why we expect Twitch’s position in the gaming industry to shrink dramatically over the next 2-3 years

Gaming will remain resilient in this VC slowdown

Two primary ways for brands to enter games that we believe have a higher rate of success

Epic’s history is important to understanding its current position and future ambitions

Game clipping is potentially walking into a perfect storm of consumer trends and accessible technologies

How web3 is impacting the role of social interaction in gaming

Social experiences across gaming

VR needs intentional social experiences

The music industry's structural issues will not be fixed by gaming

Gaming as a platform for learning

NFTs, economies, and innovation

5 key issues: ownership, identity, visuals, utility, protocols

433m gamers, only 35% mobile adoption, 60% of gamers under 25 years old

Meta's grand ambitions for the metaverse

Accretive or dilutive to the play-and-earn ecosystem?

Microsoft acquires Activision, Take-Two Acquires Zynga

Play-to-earn or play-and-earn?

Oculus sold more headsets than Xbox, PS, or Nintendo in 2021

A summary of the key trends we observed

Opportunities and roadblocks for virtual land

Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store

Solutions for AAA game developers

Ability to Earn → Ease of Crypto Adoption → Games-First Mentality → Genre Alignment → Creator Economies

Virtual influencers are a scalable way for brands to reach their fans

Steam's controversial decision to block NFT games stirs controversy

Netflix Games is going to market

Digital identities are the new frontier for self-exploration and expression

Can cloud gaming fix game subscriptions' adoption problem?

A brief history of branding in games and where it's going next

Apex Legends' impressive launch, Overwatch League returns

Influencer monetization, Call of Duty franchise

Our views regarding a federal ban on microtransactions

The struggle for esports organizations

Fortnite x Air Jordans, Riot Games governing body for collegiate esports

Gaming and culture, interesting updates from this week

Notes from the E3 conference

Investing in gaming, M&A activity, OWL talent flight

Gaming vs. Hollywood, Slack's IPO, media deals, "The Official Beer of Esports"

Professional gamers and the difference between streamers and esports athletes

Why Konvoy invested in EQU8

Esports prize pools, points of interest

Exclusive deals for streamers

Why Konvoy invested in Muxy

Gaming and Starbucks, Ninja's Twitch channel, Mixer vs. Twitch, DOTA 2 world championship

Newzoo consumer research, Ninja and Fortnite, esports jobs

City-based franchising coming to Call of Duty

Call of Duty League media rights overview

Highlights from the Esports Business Summit

Esports highlights, edge computing gains traction, game bundling, CDL vs. OWL

Activision vs. Hong Kong, data points on streaming

Notes from The Information Summit in San Francisco, Riot Games' new projects

COD: Mobile's successful launch, Mixer signs Shroud, Call of Duty franchising, the future of gaming

Call of Duty launch, gaming winning battle for consumer attention, esports media rights, questionable IPO

Live streaming growth, gamer spending habits, esports org broadcasting deals

Console hardware sales, League of Legends viewership

Konvoy's Washington Post feature, Google Stadia's tough start, game subscriptions

Cloud gaming's competitive landscape, media rights in China

The opportunity for game engines, Facebook's opportunity in gaming

A look back at 2019 in gaming

Streaming hours watched, mobile battle royale, dedicated esports VISA in Germany, Twitch sued

Esports experiences in IMAX, Pokemon Go success, ESL broadcast rights

Twitter and gaming, fintech in gaming and esports, gaming as a leader in interactive media

Epic Games store brings in $680M in first year, game developer survey

Consumer spending on mobile, time and spending by genre, ad dollars geared towards gaming

A new era for game engines, Steam exhibits impressive growth

Game content consolidation, Roblox's focus on safety