TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Discord raises USD$100m (£80.5m); thousands of games removed from China iOS store; and Animoca Brands acquires GAMEE. Discord raises USD$100m (£80.5m) Voice and video chat platform Discord has announced that it has raised USD$100m (£80.5m) in funding from Index Ventures, valuing the San Fransisco-based firm at an estimated USD$3.5bn (£2.8bn). The investment will be used to support the implementation of new features and to support the platform’s expansion [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Grishin Robotics raises USD$100m (£80.1m) fund; China iOS games to require government approval; and FaZe Clan gains stake in CTRL. Grishin Robotics raises USD$100m (£80.1m) fund Silicon Valley investment firm Grishin Robotics, founded by Mail.ru Group Founder and Chairman Dmitry Grishin, has raised USD$100m (£80.1m), in a move which will see the vehicle expand from its traditional territory of hardware into video gaming and interactive entertainment, alongside educational [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Activision Blizzard shareholders file CEO pay complaint; Cloud9 partners with Guinevere Capital; and NetEase establishes first console studio. Activision Blizzard shareholders file CEO pay complaint Voting advisory bodies Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis & Co., backed by activist shareholder CtW Investment Group, have filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recommending that Activision Blizzard stakeholders vote against an upcoming proposal to remunerate long-standing [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Zynga in talks to acquire Peak; NetEase to raise up to USD$3bn (£2.4bn); and Avalanche Studios Group to open new UK studio. Zynga in talks to acquire Peak Social game developer and services company Zynga is in advanced talks to acquire mobile games company Peak Games in a cash and shares deal which would value the latter at approximately USD$1.8bn (£1.5bn), according to a reports from Turkish media. [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Magic Leap raises USD$350m (£286m); McLaren Racing partners with Veloce Esports; and MyGamez closes funding round. Magic Leap raises USD$350m (£286m) Magic Leap has raised USD$350m (£286m) from a series of new and existing investors, according to an internal memo circulated by CEO Rony Abovitz obtained by Business Insider. At this stage the augmented reality startup has not confirmed which of its previous investors, which include Alibaba, AT&T, [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Baidu to invest CN¥500m (£58m) in livestreaming; Respawn opens Vancouver studio; and T1 invests in Mobalytics. Baidu to invest CN¥500m (£58m) in livestreaming Baidu executives have announced that the Chinese tech firm will invest approximately CN¥500m (£58m) to expand its live-streaming business through integrating its Haokan platform with its search and short-video products, alongside the recruitment of 1000 influencers. While the Beijing-based firm launched its Haokan platform in [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: PlayStation Store suspended in China; Unity acquires Finger Food Advanced Technology Group; and Rogue Games raises USD$2m (£1.6m). PlayStation Store suspended in China Sony has suspended the operations of the PlayStation Store in mainland China on an indefinite basis as of 10th May, with a spokesperson citing a “system security upgrade” as the reason for halting its services. The closure is potentially significant as it follows reports circulating [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Tencent takes over China’s streaming market with USD$262m Huya stake; Around 160,000 Nintendo accounts comprised in data beach; and Google abandons Stadia Base branding as it launches free tier. Tencent takes over China’s streaming market with USD$262m Huya stake Chinese technology giant Tencent has purchased a controlling stake in the Twitch-like streaming service Huya – and as a result a dominant position in the market. Earlier this month, Tencent [...]

[LATEST UPDATE: 3rd April] As the COVID-19 novel coronavirus continues its spread and has hit pandemic level, there has been a growing impact on the game industry. The game sector’s problems, of course, are trivial compared to the millions impacted and the potential danger to millions more across the world.  However, the earlier Taipei Game Show and Mobile World Congress were previously cancelled amidst concerns around the virus, the potential arrival of the next-generation consoles may – or may not – [...]

In this special exclusive contributed piece, Dimoso CEO Jacki Vause considers the fine art of publishing mobile games to China. Vause is a widely respected veteran of the tech, mobile and PR space, has been named one of PCR’s Top-30 Women in Mobile, and is an experienced entrepreneur and founder. — China should be considered by all mobile games developers who are looking to take their games global. Over the years I have represented many developers and publishers both from the East [...]