Highlights

Mobile gaming downloads and spending rose 30% and 40% in Q1 2021, respectively, according to App Annie/IDC (link)

• App Annie and IDC’s Gaming Spotlight report claims that consumers spent $1.7B per week in mobile in Q1, up 40% from pre-pandemic levels, while mobile game downloads grew 30%
• The report also concluded that publishers are embracing cross-platform in their titles, with top-grossing games such as Roblox and PUBG Mobile having cross-platform functionality
• “Gaming continues to be the tip of the spear on mobile,” said App Annie CEO Ted Krantz. “There are opportunities in in-app purchases and lifetime value that will add more strength to the hardcore. But hypercasual and casual are playing a pivotal role in advertising, especially post IDFA.”

86% of Gen Z plays mobile games, according to Tapjoy (link)

• A report from mobile ad and app monetization firm Tapjoy states that 86% of Gen Z members use mobile devices as gaming platforms, and that Gen Z is the most likely of all generations surveyed to enjoy other gaming platforms, including PC and Console
• 66% of Gen Z reported downloading more gaming apps during the pandemic, compared to 59% of Millennials and 56% of Generation X
• Popular genres amongst Gen Z include Action-Adventure, RPGs, and Puzzle/Match-3

M&A and Capital Raising

Krafton will raise $5B via public offering, according to Bloomberg (link)

• South Korea-based Krafton will sell more than 10M shares at a price between $409.78 to $498.36 a share
• The PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer would be valued at roughly $25B, and plans to finalize the price on July 9 to go public by July 22
• Krafton was founded in 2007 as Bluehole, and has sold over 75M copies of PUBG, with the game’s mobile version having more than 1B downloads

Lingokids raises $40M for educational games platform (link)

• San Francisco-based Lingokids will use the proceeds to develop its “playlearning” mobile educational games app, which is meant to teach literacy and other skills to children aged 2-8 years old
• The platform, launched in 2016, was recognized as one of the Top Startups in 2020 by LinkedIn and operates a child-friendly, ad-free environment
• An undisclosed investor led the round, with participation from GP Bullhound, HV Capital, and Ravensburger

Yield Guild Games raises $4M to further growth in play-to-earn gaming (link)

• Decentralized player guild Yield Guild Games will use the proceeds to continue expansion in the play-to-earn gaming market, where players can earn real money through gameplay
• Bitkraft Ventures led the funding round, with participation from A.Capital Ventures, IDEO CoLab, Mechanism Capital, and ParaFi Capital

Influence Mobile acquires Blind Ferret (link)

• Rewarded engagement firm Influence Mobile has acquired gaming ad agency Blind Ferret for an undisclosed amount
• Seattle-based Influence Mobile made the acquisition in an effort to rapidly scale its rewarded engagement platform and capture more market share in mobile game advertising
• Blind Ferret, headquartered in Canada, works with mobile app developers to acquire new users through targeted advertising campaigns

Vungle agrees to buy JetFuel (link)

• Performance marketing firm Vungle has agreed to acquire influencer marketing platform JetFuel for an undisclosed amount
• The deal is the fourth acquisition that Vungle has made in the past seven months
• JetFuel enables app developers and other advertisers to scale marketing campaigns across a network of over 15,000 fully verified influencers, with a combined reach of over 4B Instagram followers, 1.5B TikTok followers, and 100M daily Snapchat views

Others

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 launches in 2022 (link)

• Nintendo confirmed the title’s 2022 release date on Switch alongside a new trailer at their E3 2021 Direct Presentation
• The new title aims to be significantly more expansive than its predecessor, with new abilities and environments designed to improve gameplay

Cyberpunk 2077 returns to the PlayStation Store on June 21 (link)

• Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red confirmed the title’s return to the PlayStation Store after nearly six full months of being withheld from the platform by Sony

Niantic partners with Hasbro to launch Transformers: Heavy Metal in 2021 (link)

• Niantic has partnered with Hasbro to launch Transformers: Heavy Metal, a new augmented reality mobile game which is currently in development
• The title will allow players to battle robots in an AR street environment, similar to Pokémon GO’s raid battle system
• Very Very Spaceship has been tasked with game development using Niantic’s Lightship platform as it prepares for a soft launch in New Zealand sometime in June

Mythical Games launches early access for Blankos Block Party (link)

• Los Angeles-based Mythical Games has launched early access on PC for its Blankos Block Party open-world multiplayer game
• Mythical Games has more than 100 employees, and it has been working on its tech and game for three years

A new Batman AR game is in development from Warner Bros. (link)

• The augmented-reality mobile game, known as “DC: Batman Bat-Tech Edition”, has begun testing in Italy on iOS devices
• The game currently features 10 AR missions, 10 Batman-themed mini-games, 8 AR face filters, 10 sticker packs, and 5 exclusive digital comics

Gaming Public Multiples