TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Opera acquires YoYo Games; multiple studios fined for geoblocking; and Visionary Realms secures seven-figure investment. Opera acquires YoYo Games Internet browser developer Opera has announced that it has acquired Dundee-based YoYo Games for approximately USD$10m (£7.3m). The acquired firm, which operates 2D game engine GameMaker Studio, will be combined with gamer-oriented browser Opera GX in a new subsidiary division, termed Opera Gaming. GameMakerStudio increased its userbase by 400,000 [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Bombay Play raises USD$1m (£744,000); Appyfurious receives My.Games funding; and Activision Blizzard sues Netflix for alleged executive poaching. Bombay Play raises USD$1m (£744,000) Mobile social game developer Bombay Play has announced that it has secured USD$1m (£744,000) in a seed round financed wholly by video game-dedicated venture capital fund Lumikai. The Mumbai-based startup is set to use the funding for future title development and to support its existing [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Flexion Mobile raises SEK114m (£10m); Esports One secures USD$4m (£3m); and Gfinity acquires EpicStream. Flexion Mobile raises SEK114m (£10m) Android game distribution platform Flexion Mobile has announced that it has raised just shy of SEK114m (£10m) through a private placement of 7.713 million shares worth approximately SEK110m (£9.68m), alongside a directed share issuance of 1.438 million shares. The proceeds from the placement and directed issue will be primarily [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Microsoft acquires Smash.gg; GreenPark Sports secures USD$14m (£10m); and VisiSonics raises USD$3.5m (£2.6m) for 3D sound technology. Microsoft acquires Smash.gg Microsoft has acquired esports tournament organisation platform Smash.gg for an undisclosed sum. The networking firm, operating out of San Francisco, will continue to operate as independent unit under the Microsoft Content Services division, bolstering the MSN Esports hub. Microsoft has yet to release further details on the acquisition, [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Lightfox Games raises USD$3.3m (£2.5m); Nintendo restricts commercial use of Animal Crossing; and BLAST secures £1.7m. Lightfox Games raises USD$3.3m (£2.5m) Nascent mobile developer-publisher Lightfox Games has announced that it has raised USD$3.3m (£2.5m) in a seed financing round led by March Gaming, with support from Hiro Capital and 1Up Ventures. The Seattle-based studio is set to use the investment to support the release of its debut accessible [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Apple halves IAP commission for smaller developers; Gunzilla Games launches; and Nvidia gaming revenue reaches record USD$2.27bn (£1.71bn). Apple halves IAP commission for smaller developers Technology giant Apple has announced that it will halve the commission rate it charges for in-app purchases (IAPs) made through its App Store to 15% for developers earning up to USD$1m (£753,000) per year on a post-commission basis. The reduced tariffs will be [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: US House criticises app store dominance; G-Loot raises SEK500m (£43.3m); and Activision Blizzard withdraws from France. US House criticises app store dominance The US House of Representatives antitrust committee has filed a 449-page report criticising the four big tech companies, namely Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, following an investigation into their alleged monopolistic practices. Most preeminent for the video games industry is the House findings on Apple [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Survios raises USD$16.7m (£12.9m); quarter of Ubisoft employees experienced misconduct; game streaming retains momentum. Survios raises USD$16.7m (£12.9m) Los Angeles-based VR developer Survios has raised USD$16.7m (£12.9m) in a venture funding round led by SeAH Group’s investment vehicle Irongrey and supported by Woori Technology Investment; KNET Venture Fund; Seoul Investment Partners; Shasta Ventures; Lux Capital; and Samsung Next. The investment will be used for recruitment and to support [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Epic Games acquires SuperAwesome; Build a Rocket Boy raises £32m; Krafton merges PUBG Corp. ahead of 2021 IPO. Epic Games acquires SuperAwesome Epic Games has announced the acquisition of London-based kidtech provider SuperAwesome for an undisclosed sum. The Kids Web Services (KWS) platform built by SuperAwesome is used by developers to incorporate child-friendly services into their digital products, for example GDPR- and age-appropriate advertising. SuperAwesome counts brands such [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: GameStop posts USD$111m (£85.6m) loss; Xbox Series X launch details revealed; and Grimorio of Games and JanduSoft secure USD$450,000 (£346,900). GameStop posts USD$111m (£85.6m) loss Video game retailer GameStop has posted a net loss of USD$111.3m (£85.8m) for the second quarter of its financial year, ended 1st August 2020. Once adjusted, the net loss from continuing operations of USD$91.2m (£70.3m) through the period is significantly wider than the [...]