Highlights

Mobile games consumer spending hit $19 billion in Q2 2020 (link)

• Consumers have spent more than $19 billion on mobile games in Q2 of 2020, according to App Annie
• Furthermore, both the App Store and Google Play generated more revenue in Q2 2020 than in Q1. However, the latter saw the most significant growth at 25%, more than two times the rise seen on the former. Moreover, 85% of earnings through the Android storefront came from games while they accounted for 65% on iOS

Newzoo: Esports revenue forecast drops despite huge interest and viewership (link)

• Back in April, market researcher Newzoo was pretty timid about knocking down its esports forecast for 2020. But the company revised its forecast a second time, saying that 2020 revenues would be down 8% from its forecast from February
• The downgrading is happening as physical events get delayed or dry up altogether. Esports companies and game publishers are taking their events online, but COVID-19 has prevented them from doing any physical events, which were previously a big chunk of the industry’s revenue. Newzoo said the situation is fluid and it may revise its forecast again as needed

AppLovin strengthens its executive team with four new appointments (link)

• The first hire is Basil Shikin, who is now the chief technology officer. He previously held the role of vice president of engineering at the company
• Victoria Valenzuela has filled the second role, chief legal officer and corporate secretary
• Keith Kawahata is the next hire, and he will serve as AppLovin’s first head of games. A mobile games veteran, Kawahata has over 10 years experience in the industry with his last role being head of mobile for Wargaming.net
• Deepak Gupta will take on the part of chief revenue officer

Magic Leap appoints ex-Microsoft exec Peggy Johnson as new CEO (link)

• Microsoft’s Peggy Johnson will leave the company to become Magic Leap’s new CEO on August 1st
• Currently, Johnson is Microsoft’s vice president of business development and has been with the company since 2014. Before that, she spent 24 years at American firm Qualcomm. In that time, she held a variety of leadership positions. On top of this, Johnson sits on the board of directors for BlackRock

Amazon delays New World MMO until spring 2021 (link)

• The company said it is delaying its New World massively multiplayer online game until the spring of 2021, based on feedback it’s received from testers and players

The Sims will get its own reality TV show on TBS (link)

• Electronic Arts said The Sims will get its own reality TV show, dubbed The Sims Spark’d, on the TBS television channel in a partnership with Turner Sports, Eleague, and Buzzfeed Multiplayer
• The show about EA’s life simulation video game will debut on TBS at 8 p.m. Pacific on on Friday, July 17, and new episodes will air weekly on Fridays through August 7. It’s another sign that games are mainstream and that television companies are recognizing that they need to do something to get younger viewers back. That trend has only accelerated during the pandemic, though TBS said this deal has been in the works for more than a year

Ubisoft’s Hyper Scape battle royale enters open beta (link)

• Ubisoft revealed the game July 2 as a free-to-play battle royale game, which is a hot genre with titles like Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Hyper Scape will debut on the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One later this summer. Ubisoft just finished its first tech test with players on the PC in North America and Europe

Ubisoft unveils Far Cry 6 for February 18 launch (link)

• Ubisoft unveiled the first trailer for Far Cry 6 at its Ubisoft Forward event, announcing that the new installment in the popular series will debut on February 18, 2021
• Far Cry 6 features actor Giancarlo Esposito, a veteran of shows such as Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, and The Mandalorian

Buildbox owner AppOnboard hires Riot Games leader Mike Seavers as CEO (link)

• AppOnboard has named former Riot Games chief technology officer Mike Seavers as its new CEO. Founder and previous CEO Jonathan Zweig will continue as president at the company, which makes a do-it-yourself game platform and playable ads

Niantic soft launches next AR title Catan: World Explorers (link)

• The game’s description points to users harvesting supplies, such as Lumber, Wool, Grain, Brick, and Ore, as well as constructing buildings on settlements and playing dice mini-games to earn bonuses

Rockstar Starts Production on AAA Open-world VR Title (link)

M&A and Capital Raising

Sony invests $250 million in Fortnite maker Epic Games (link)

• Sony has invested $250 million for a minority stake in Fortnite maker Epic Games. With the new money, Epic Games has raised $1.83 billion to date
• The companies said the deal cements an already close relationship and reinforces their shared goal to advance the state of the art in technology, entertainment, and socially connected online services. This close relationship was underscored in May when Epic first showed the upcoming Unreal Engine 5 graphics running on a PlayStation 5

Tencent in exclusive talks to buy Hong Kong gaming firm Leyou (link)

• Leyou has a number of subsidiaries which make video games and is most well-known for “Warframe,” a title created by subsidiary Digital Extremes
• Leyou and controlling shareholder Charles Yuk have entered into an exclusivity agreement with Tencent Mobility Limited, a Tencent subsidiary

Traplight launches Battle Legion mobile game and raises $9 million (link)

• Mobile game studio Traplight is launching its Battle Legion mobile strategy game worldwide and announcing a $9 million funding round that EQT Ventures led

Animoca Brands secures $4.1 million through strategic investors (link)

• In an announcement, the company confirmed the money was raised through strategic investors M7 Asia and global venture capital firm Mind Fund, though there was participation from other firms

Others

Niantic teams up with Rian Johnson for Pokemon Go Fest trailer (link)

• Announced via its website, the American firm locked in the Star Wars: The Last Jedi director to make a commercial that will both celebrate the upcoming event and pay tribute to the game’s fourth anniversary

Crash Bandicoot: On The Run is a new mobile runner from King (link)

• Activision‘s mobile label King is making a new Crash Bandicoot game. Crash Bandicoot: On The Run is bringing the beloved platforming character to iOS and Android as an autorunner. Like in other Crash games, players will control the titular marsupial as he attempts to defeat the villainous Dr. Neo Cortex

Thatgamecompany’s Sky reaches 20 million downloads (link)

• Thatgamecompany announced that its latest release, Sky: Children of the Light, has passed 20 million downloads. This happens just ahead of the free-to-play multiplayer mobile game’s first anniversary

Manticore will pay DIY game creators $3 per daily player (link)

• Manticore Games has unveiled a pilot version of the monetization process for its Core platform, a do-it-yourself game construction set that folks use to create their own games. The company said it will pay these DIY creators $3 per daily gamer during its testing period
• The Core platform is a free platform for game development and a community for player-creators. The company will make more than $1 million available during the pilot program for the monetization

Gaming Public Multiples