TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Scopely secures USD$340m (£262m) Series E funding; Shotcall raises USD$2.2m (£1.7m); and EA fined up to €5m (£4.5m) over loot boxes. Scopely secures USD$340m (£262m) Series E funding Los Angeles-based mobile gaming company Scopely has announced that it has secured USD$340m (£262m) in Series E funding at a suggested post-money valuation of USD$3.3bn, with the funding set to be used to support inorganic growth through acquisitions as well [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Huuuge Games acquires Double Star; EU IMCP recommends new loot box approach; and 2020 XR forecast revised to USD$6.9bn (£5.4bn). Huuuge Games acquires Double Star Szczecin, Poland-based developer-publisher Huuuge Games has announced the acquisition of Finnish indie studio Double Star for an undisclosed sum. Double Star, which previously collaborated with Huuuge Games on the release of casual mobile RPG Bow Land, will operate as a subsidiary studio out [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Tim Sweeney accuses Apple and Google of monopolisation; Rabbit & Bear Studios formed; and Jeff Karp leaves Big Fish Games for EA. Tim Sweeney accuses Apple and Google of monopolisation Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has accused Apple and Google of monopolistic and anti-competitive practices on their respective mobile stores, in an interview published on CNBC. Sweeney’s arguments centre around the tech giants’ policies forbidding competing stores running [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the latest news in the world of gaming. In today’s news: New EU regulation gives developers and publishers more rights against platforms; Amazon pushes New World MMO back to 2021; and Leyou gives Tencent priority in acquisition talks. New EU regulation gives developers and publishers more rights against platforms A new piece of EU legislation, which gives European games developers and publishers more protection against distributor platforms, came into effect yesterday (12 July). The new rules mean [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: ESRB introduces loot box labelling; Kumu raises USD$5m (£4m); and Mighty Jaxx raises SGD$4.5m (£2.5m). ESRB introduces loot box labelling The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has introduced a new interactive labelling element to its rating system, designed to indicate when a game incorporates randomised elements to in-game purchases. While the new designation, which will assign the “In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)” label to the appropriate titles, is [...]

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 [...]

As part of the recent UK budget, the government confirmed that it is pressing ahead with its somewhat controversial Digital Services Tax. As reported by the Financial times, the UK plans to raise £500m a year by applying the tax primarily to large US tech companies. It is being seen as a means to secure money in relation to allegations that many large tech outfits are not paying enough tax in the areas in which they operate, instead using low tax [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: Sony gaming revenue declines; 1570 game approvals by China in 2019; and Supercell invests €1m (£846,000) in Wild Games. Sony gaming revenue declines Sony gaming and network services revenue for the third quarter of the financial year has fallen by 20% year-on-year to JP¥632.1bn (£4.451bn), with operating income declining by 36.6% to JP¥53.5bn (£367m), according to the Japanese conglomerate’s published results. The decline has been attributed to foreign [...]

TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: UK trade bodies respond to immigration proposals; Animoca Brands reports AUD$25.1m (£12.7m) receipts from customers; Barclays to offer VGTR loans; and Ubisoft acquires Kolibri Games. UK trade bodies respond to immigration proposals Video game industry bodies The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) and The Independent Game Developers’ Association (TIGA) has issued responses to the report released by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) examining the potential implementation of [...]

In the second of this two-part interview series, TheGamingEconomy speaks with Yat Siu (pictured), founder and non-executive chairman of Animoca Brands, following its acquisition of nWay, Inc. in December 2019. In part two: the evolution of in-game advertising, the growth of gaming, and the value of true digital ownership. How do you see in-game advertising evolving over the course of the next decade? Do you see it continue to grow in importance as it has done over the previous few years? I [...]