TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: TIGA reports that 2019-2020 has seen the fastest growth for the UK games industry; Esports Guild signs its first major sponsorship since its IPO; and PopReach wins investment from eWTP’s New Insight Incentive Company.   UK games industry growth at fastest ever, finds TIGA   Research from TIGA, the trade association that represents the video games industry, has found that the year 2019-2020 has seen the fastest growth for the [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Kahoot raises USD$215m (£165m); Unity launches Game Growth Program; and Vungle acquires AlgoLift. Kahoot! raises USD$215m Oslo-based educational gaming company Kahoot! has announced that it has raised NOK1.978bn (USD$215.1m/£165.4m) via a private placement of 43 million shares to SoftBank Group Corp. The investment will be used by the Norwegian firm to continue development on its proprietary platform, as well as supporting its inorganic growth strategy through acquisitions. In [...]

In a demonstration of video gaming’s growing influence in other sectors, gamified fitness brands have featured prominently in investment headlines recently, perhaps most notably in the the USD$450m (£345m) funding round closed by Zwift in September. Subsequently, after several years in development, gamified combat sports brand JABII launched a crowdfunding campaign via the Indiegogo platform on Tuesday 13th October. In this exclusive interview, TheGamingEconomy speaks to JABII Group Founder and CEO Christian Thostrup (pictured below) on how the Copenhagen-based start-up is [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Huya and DouYu to merge; Take-Two Interactive acquires Ruffian Games; and misleading Playrix adverts banned in the UK. Huya and DouYu to merge Chinese video game streaming firms Huya Inc. and DouYu International Holdings Ltd. have announced that they are set to merge in a stock-for-stock transaction, creating a combined entity valued at approximately USD$11bn (£8.4bn). Tencent Holdings Ltd., which currently owns stakes of 50.1% and 38% in [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Sumo Group acquires Pipeworks; CD Projekt Red imposes mandatory crunch; and Guild Esports raises £18.75m. Sumo Group acquires Pipeworks UK video game holding company Sumo Group has announced the full acquisition of Oregon-based studio Pipeworks (Lake Street Labs Buyer Corp.) for a maximum consideration of USD$99.5m (£77.4m), consisting of an initial payment of USD$59.5m (£46.3m) in cash and newly issued share capital, followed by an earn-out consideration of [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Nvidia acquires Arm for USD$40bn (£31bn); Twitch adverts now available programmatically; and Anubis Gaming raises USD$300,000 (£234,000). Nvidia acquires Arm for USD$40bn (£31bn) Nvidia has announced that it has reached an agreement with SoftBank Group Corp. to acquire Cambridge-based chipmaker Arm for a total consideration of up to USD$40bn (£31bn), consisting of USD$21.5bn (£16.8bn) in common stock, USD$12bn (£9.4bn) in cash, USD$1.5bn (£1.2bn) in issued equity, and up [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: BITKRAFT closes USD$165m (£125m) gaming fund; EG7 to acquire Big Blue Bubble; and MAG Interactive acquires Sventertainment. BITKRAFT closes USD$165m (£125m) gaming fund BITKRAFT Ventures has announced the close of its BITKRAFT Ventures Fund I at USD$165m (£125m), above the targeted USD$125m (£94.7m). The fund is supported by a host of investors including Adidas, WPP, Declaration Partners, JS Capital, and Logitech. BITKRAFT has been prolific in its financial [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Gamezop raises USD$4.3m (£3.3m); Voodoo opens two APAC offices; and Keywords Studios acquires Maverick Media. Gamezop raises USD$4.3m (£3.3m) Install-less hyper-casual gaming platform Gamezop has raised USD$4.3m (£3.3m) in a Series A funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures and supported by FJ Labs, Survam Partners, and Velo Partners. The Gamezop platform is used to integrate HTML5 titles in apps such as India Today, Firefox, Xiaomi Pay, in return [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Odyssey Interactive raises USD$6m (£4.5m); Nvidia revenue up by 50%; and Kolibri Games opens Bucharest studio. Odyssey Interactive raises USD$6m (£4.5m) Nascent Canadian studio Odyssey Interactive has announced that it has raised USD$6m (£4.5m) in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Golden Ventures, A16z Cultural Leadership Fund, and a host of angel investors including Kevin Lin (co-founder of Twitch) and Steve Chen (co-founder of YouTube). The investment will be [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Embracer Group acquires eight studios; Tencent gaming revenue up 40%; and Stillfront Group EBITDA climbs 159%. Embracer Group acquires eight studios Karlstad-based video games holding company Embracer Group AB has announced that it has acquired eight separate firms encompassing developers, game service companies, and distributors, for a combined £61.67m. In summary, the acquisitions comprise of: – Maltese independent PC and console developer 4A Games Limited, acquired in full by [...]