Kliuless? Gaming Industry Insights #65
Hi, my name is Kenny Liu, and each week I compile a gaming industry insights newsletter that I publish broadly. Opinions are mine.
See more or subscribe at: https://tinyletter.com/kliuless
The X
- The X, a weekly scavenger hunt app launched in 2018, has blown up recently thanks to TikTok
- Each Saturday, a new game opens with five puzzles to solve, usually related to current events
- Users coordinate with group messaging and social media to solve clues that ultimately lead to one final step at a nearby location
- Everyone who makes it through all the challenges splits a cash prize, like HQ Trivia
- There’s only one game per week and the challenges are different each time, keeping the experience fresh. Users can also regulate the difficulty by either trying to go solo or completing it with others online, providing greater accessibility to a broad user base
Business Strategy
- Blog: Measuring marginal organic contribution from paid marketing
- Twitter’s ad network provides the best value for PC/console games marketing
Platforms
- Kickstarter and Games in 2019
- Matthew Ball essay on the metaverse
- Epic Games Store third-party games hit $251m in player spending
- Google Stadia is getting 10 timed exclusives in the first half of 2020
Creative
- Favorite Game Animations of 2019
- Mark Brown: The Two Types of Random
- Project Horseshoe: Applications of Cyclical Progression
- The Last of Us director Bruce Straley on ludonarrative dissonance
- Designing Manifold Garden's believably unbelievable world and puzzles
- Blizzard is pushing World of Warcraft into the future with Visions of N’Zoth update
PC / Console
- Tencent bids $148m to acquire 100% of Funcom
- Digital Bros to buy Starbreeze assets from Smilegate
- Major slowdown of new releases on Steam last year
- Microsoft first-party titles to be cross-compatible between Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Mobile
- Stillfront Group acquires Storm8 for up to $400m
- Scopely acquires Marvel Strike Force dev FoxNext Games from Disney
- Tencent’s TiMi J3 studio cracked the code on adapting Call of Duty for mobile
- App Annie's State of Mobile 2020 report: Mobile games now bring in more spending than all other game types combined
XR: AR / MR / VR
- BBC: What went wrong with virtual reality?
- AR could be Nintendo Switch's next gimmick
- Niantic drove $249m in tourism revenue with its walking events in 2019
Esports & Influencers
- Streamlabs: Year in Review Live Streaming Industry Report
- How ESL is keeping in stride with esports tournament growth
- Related: Blizzard signs three-year deal with ESL, Dreamhack
- Super League Gaming partners with Chinese cinema company Wanda Media
- PlayVS brings Fortnite to high school and college esports tournaments
- Brands pursue millennials by engaging with esports and gaming
- BBC: YouTube signs three top gamers away from rival Twitch
China
- Bloomberg: ByteDance Readying Assault on Tencent’s Mobile Gaming Kingdom
- Tencent intends to further diversify investments outside of games
- NetEase launches own digital distribution platform in China
- China's latest online trend: traditional culture and cosplay
- NYT: Why ‘Star Wars’ Keeps Bombing in China
Tech / Entertainment
- Report: 59% of Americans aren’t willing to pay >$20/month for streaming services
- NYT profile on Clearview AI, a start-up that helps law enforcement match photos of unknown people to their online images
Overtime
- AppsFlyer secures $210m in latest funding round
- Russian game market doubled in five years to $2bn
- Fortnite is holding a TikTok dance contest to find the next great emote
- Famed Oaktree Capital investor Howard Marks on games and investing
- Plague Inc. tops Apple’s App Store in China as Wuhan coronavirus spreads
- LA Times: Women suing Riot Games may deserve $400m, not $10m, state regulator says
- Podcast interview with NYT best-selling author Neil Pasricha on happy habits
See more or subscribe at: https://tinyletter.com/kliuless
Twitter: @kliuless
LinkedIn: @kliuless