Live music, film, TV, health, and social networking. Once distinct sectors with limited overlap with the video games sector, in recent months we have seen increased crossover between each of these and gaming, fuelled by the ever-increasing adoption of digital, the persistent engagement of video game audiences, and the temporary halt of physical events in the wake of Covid-19. While music festivals have faced postponement, in-game concerts in multiplayer platforms such as Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite, are thriving. After a [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Playstation 5 revealed; Playable Worlds raises USD$10m (£7.9m); and Zynga partners with Snap. Playstation 5 revealed Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has revealed its next-generation PlayStation 5 console, with a standard version running alongside a “digital edition”, which lacks a disc drive, as well as a series of peripherals and accessories. Sony has not confirmed the recommended retail price points for each version of the console at this juncture, [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Wave raises USD$30m (£24m); Baidu acquires Redfinger; and UK to launch APAC Digital Trade Network. Wave raises USD$30m (£24m) Los Angeles-based digital concert broadcaster Wave has raised USD$30m (£24m) in Series B funding in a round led by Maveron, with support from a host of 15 VC and angel investors, including Upfront Ventures, Raised in Space Enterprises, RRE Ventures, NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Griffin Gaming Partners, and GFR Fund. [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Nvidia GeForce NOW pivots to opt-in model; Carry1st raises USD$2.5m (£2.0m); and TeamSpeak partners with Activision Blizzard. Nvidia GeForce NOW pivots to opt-in model Nvidia have announced that developers and publishers will now have to opt-in to listing their titles on its GeForce NOW cloud gaming service, as opposed to requesting the removal of IP if they do not want it to be playable on the platform. The [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Tencent and Huawei partner for cloud gaming; Colopl acquires Mages; and HQ Trivia returns. Tencent and Huawei partner for cloud gaming Tencent has partnered with Huawei to launch a co-innovation development lab which will power a new mobile cloud gaming platform, termed GameMatrix. The collaboration will leverage Huawei’s Kunpeng processor technology with the firms prioritising emerging areas within the gaming industry, namely artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Cloud gaming to reach USD$56.57bn (£48.80bn) by 2027; DreamCraft raises USD$3m (£2.6m); and Google Stadia partners with Unity. Cloud gaming to reach USD$56.57bn by 2027 The global cloud gaming market is forecast to reach USD$56.57bn (£48.80bn) by 2027, representing a CAGR from 2018 of 15.7%, according to estimates from Fortune Business Insights. Several factors have been cited as drivers towards this growth, including the increased adoption of online [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Scopely raises USD$200m (£173.1m) for M&A; The Sandbox secures USD$2.01m (£1.74m); Robin Games secures USD$7m (£6.05m) seed funding; and Mainframe Industries raises €7.6m (£7.1m). Scopely raises USD$200m (£173.1m) for M&A Los Angeles-based mobile publisher Scopely has secured USD$200m (£173.1m) in Series D funding, with investment primarily coming from media group Advance and consumer investment firm The Chernin Group. The latest haul, which takes Scopely’s total funding to USD$658.7m [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Bazooka Tango raises USD$2.5m (£2.0m); Samsung to shutter PlayGalaxy Link; and Impressivo secures Series A funding. Bazooka Tango raises USD$2.5m (£2.0m) Nascent studio Bazooka Tango, formed by the former development team of mobile MMO Vainglory from Super Evil Megacorp, has raised USD$2.5m (£2.0m) in Series A funding. The round was led by Bitkraft Esports Ventures, with additional participation from MTG, Mergelane, and a selection of unnamed investors. The [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: SEA Telcos to launch gaming joint venture; Horizon raises USD$5m (£3.8m); and Nvidia acquires SwiftStack. SEA Telcos to launch gaming joint venture Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), its Thai affiliate Advanced Info Service (AIS), and South Korean firm SK Telecom have partnered to launch an as-yet unnamed joint venture focusing on gaming-related revenue streams. The new collaboration will focus on partnering with international developers operating in the Southeast Asian (SEA) [...]

TheGamingEconomy Daily Digest brings you the trending business stories in gaming. In today’s edition: Google opens Playa Vista Stadia studio; Esports Players League completes USD$1m seed round; and Phoenix Games acquires Studio Firefly. Google opens Playa Vista Stadia studio Google has opened its second studio specifically focused on making games and entertainment content for the Stadia cloud platform. The studio will be based in Playa Vista, California, joining the existing operation in Montreal, Canada. Former Sony Santa Monica lead Shannon Studstill is to [...]