Kliuless #39: E3 2019 Recap

Kliuless? Gaming Industry ICYMI #39

Hi, my name is Kenny Liu, and I work in Revenue Strategy at Riot Games. Each week I compile a gaming industry insights newsletter that I share broadly within Riot. This edition is the public version that I publish broadly every week as well. Opinions are mine.

See more or subscribe at: https://tinyletter.com/kliuless

E3

• Microsoft:
  • Xbox closes E3 2019 conference with Project Scarlett, coming Holiday 2020
    • Related: How Microsoft is tackling cloud gaming with Project xCloud
  • Xbox Game Studios adds Double Fine Productions and dedicated Age of Empires studio to roster
• Others: Nintendo, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Bethesda
• Ars Technica: "The best games, demos, and tech of E3 2019"

Strategic Advisory

• Mary Meeker’s most important trends on the internet
  • "The number of interactive gamers worldwide grew 6 percent to 2.4 billion people last year, as interactive games like Fortnite become the new social media for certain people. The number of people who watch those games — rather than participate — is swelling, too"
• Newzoo: U.S. will overtake China as No. 1 gaming market in 2019
• Pew report on U.S. Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2019
• HBR: Why Managers Design Jobs to Be More Boring Than They Need to Be
• HBR: Why You Should Create a “Shadow Board” of Younger Employees
• People Don't Actually Know Themselves Very Well

Mobile

• Detailed design deconstruction of AFK Arena
• FT: Tencent’s ‘PUBG Mobile’ becomes top-earning global game
• App Annie: Games accounted for 33% of mobile downloads and 74% of spending in 2018
  • Related: Mobile games are losing to video in the battle for users' time 
• Bloomberg: The Next Big Phones Could Bring a Billion People Online

Tech / Entertainment

• HBR: Marvel's Blockbuster Machine
• Epic Games acquires social video app Houseparty
• The 9 biggest highlights from Apple WWDC 2019
• Amazon Lays Off Dozens Of Game Developers During E3

Overtime

• NYT: Dance Dance Revolution 2019
• Why Niantic bought a tabletop game developer
• Extra Credits: The History of Roguelike Deckbuilders
• Divinity: Original Sin developer Larian Studios is behind Baldur's Gate 3
• The best games of Japan's biggest indie expo
• Tencent sells $56m worth of Glu Mobile shares
• A brief history of Spotify by R&D chief Gustav Söderström

See more or subscribe at: https://tinyletter.com/kliuless

Twitter: @kliuless
LinkedIn: @kliuless