SpielFabrique’s Post

Mobile Game Publishing Dead? I was reading an article and came across some fascinating insights about M&A trends in the mobile gaming sector from March 2021 to February 2022. Here are the key takeaways: 1. Self-Publishing Dominance:   - 85% of acquired gaming studios self-published their games.   - Only 15% published third-party games.   - 0% worked with traditional mobile game publishers. 2. Exclusion of Mega Deals:   - The analysis excludes deals over $1B to avoid skewing the results, such as:    - Activision Blizzard ($68.7B)    - Zynga ($12.7B)    - Moonton Technology ($4B)    - SpinX Games ($2.17B)    - Glu Mobile ($2.1B)    - Playdemic ($1.4B)    - GSN Games ($1B) 3. Shift to Original IP-Centric M&A Focus:   - The post-IDFA environment has accelerated the shift from distribution-centric to original IP-centric M&A focus.   - Strong player affinity towards a studio’s games makes a self-published studio acquisition more valuable in terms of IP and player base. 4. Changing Economics of Mobile Game Publishing:   - Traditional studio/publisher relationships are becoming less favorable.   - Typical revenue shares heavily favor publishers (around 60/40 after user acquisition costs).   - Studios are recognizing the disproportionate economics and are shifting to self-publishing. 5. VC Investment Implications:   - Studios need to develop in-house skills to self-publish or partner with third parties to publish under their own name.   - VCs find it almost impossible to exit investments without a self-publishing strategy in place. This analysis highlights the growing importance of self-publishing in the mobile gaming industry and offers crucial insights for studios and investors alike. But this leads us to a bigger question: Is traditional mobile game publishing dying?

💖Small is Beautiful 🌱 🎮 The gaming industry is experiencing a remarkable transformation: a shift from massive, corporate studios to nimble, independent teams. This trend, fueled by the growing accessibility of tools like Unreal Engine 🛠️, is empowering smaller studios to create high-quality games with unprecedented creativity, flexibility, and speed. 🕑 🌟For many seasoned developers, the allure of smaller studios isn’t just about fewer meetings—it’s about rediscovering a creative spark 💥. 👥 These studios operate with a tighter focus and greater cohesion 🤝, empowering each team member to make impactful contributions. For creatives, this offers a refreshing change from highly segmented AAA studios, where roles and processes are often rigidly defined. 🔍📋 In these setups, developers experience faster decision-making 🏃♂️💨 and the ability to pivot quickly 🔄—two elements crucial for creative storytelling 📖 and immersive gameplay design 🕹️. Smaller teams can afford to be experimental 🧪, which leads to unique games that stand out 🌐. 🛠️🌍The emergence of powerful and accessible game engines 🎮, like Unreal Engine and Unity, has been a game-changer. What was once the domain of studios with millions in funding 💰 and hundreds of employees is now available to teams of a few talented creators 👨💻. This democratization of game development tools has enabled smaller studios to attract top talent 🏅 who previously might have felt constrained within massive corporate structures 🏢. For developers, it’s a chance to bring their ideas to life 💡 with fewer barriers, while for the industry, it signals a golden age of diverse and daring game experiences 🏆🎉. 🌐💥The rise of smaller studios isn’t just a passing trend; it’s reshaping the gaming industry’s future 🔮. As big studios double down on safe, blockbuster franchises 🎬, smaller teams are pushing boundaries, both creatively and technically 💡📈. The industry’s renewed focus on indie and mid-sized studios is resulting in a broader spectrum of games 🕹️, where unique stories 📖, unconventional mechanics 🔄, and experimental genres 🎨 are celebrated. For investors and publishers, this shift signals new opportunities as well 💼💵. Smaller studios often operate on leaner budgets 📊 and tighter timelines 🕰️, reducing financial risk and enabling more flexible partnerships 🤝. By supporting these teams, industry stakeholders can participate in a new wave of innovative projects, positioning themselves at the forefront of gaming’s next evolution. 🚀🎮 🔥🌍In this evolving landscape, smaller studios have not only carved out a niche 🌟 but are fast becoming the beating heart of the industry 💖. As they continue to defy expectations, their success is a beacon for all who believe that, in gaming, it’s not the size of the studio that matters—it’s the size of the vision. 🌠✨ #GameDevelopment #IndieStudios #bluesquirrel #vr #xr #GamingIndustry #UnrealEngine #GameDesign #Innovation

The dirty secret of the ghost developer in Japan. In Japanese game publishing, just about every major Japanese game publisher uses uncredited co-development "ghost developer" game studios. Every major game publisher franchise has uncredited gamedev work on them. This is the Japanese way. From Nintendo on down. It makes it easier to not do layoffs. And to appear more profitable per staff. If game publishers cut budget they just cut secondary and tertiary contract studios from development. And then they don't have to do internal cuts which are much harder under Japanese law. And thus Japanese publishers can stay smaller because they don't get as big as some western publishers and developers. Now when Japanese publishers cut projects, you can always expect the pain is being felt down the line at studios like Tose. ----- VideoGameChronicle: "Co-development studio Tose reports losses due to multiple cancelled games. cancellations made by client publishers are having a knock on effect." (Chris Scullion) Co-development studio Tose has reported a nine-month loss of ¥367 million ($2.28 million) due to numerous projects being cancelled by its clients. Established in 1979, Tose has a long history as a studio that specialises in working with other publishers and developers. However, in its recent Q3 earnings report covering September 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024, the developer says its digital entertainment sector suffered a significant decline in profit, resulting in an overall loss for the period. Tose has gained a reputation as a ‘ghost developer’ over the decades, because of its general policy to avoid taking credit for the games it’s worked on. As such, it’s practically impossible to create a full list of Tose-developed games, particularly those made in the ’80s and ’90s, because so many of them made no mention of the company or its staff at all. In recent times, however, the studio’s work has been acknowledged more frequently – its website now lists some of the titles it worked on recently, inclufing the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, Scarlet Nexus, WarioWare: Move It and Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. Because it mainly relies on work commissioned from other publishers, however, Tose is now suffering the knock-on effects of these publishers’ own financial troubles. As such, it reports that multiple projects it had been working on have now been cancelled due to its clients’ policy changes, and it won’t be able to recoup profits from those games as a result of their cancellation. Although Tose doesn’t specify which clients have cancelled projects it was working on, the studio is a frequent collaborator with Square Enix, which confirmed in May that it had cancelled a number of unannounced game projects because they don’t fit with its new strategy. VideoGameChronicle: https://lnkd.in/gCqcxcEr #gameindustry #gamedev #japan #gamepublishing #ghostdeveloper

Mobile game publishers play a crucial role in the success of hyper-casual and hybrid-casual games by guiding development studios throughout the game creation process. Studios working with publishers typically fall into three categories: creative-driven, data-driven, and publisher-driven. Each of these approaches affects how the game is conceptualized, designed, and eventually launched. Creative-driven studios focus on the artistic and gameplay aspects of their titles. Their primary goal is to create engaging and unique experiences that captivate players. These studios often rely on their instincts and creativity to produce innovative games, trusting that their ideas will stand out in the competitive market. On the other hand, data-driven studios use analytics and player behavior data to inform every decision they make. They place a strong emphasis on optimizing user engagement, retention, and monetization based on hard data. While this method can result in highly polished games, it may limit creativity if developers focus too much on numbers over innovation. A third type, publisher-driven studios, often depend heavily on the publisher for every decision. These developers are hesitant to make design choices without verifying every detail with their publishing managers. While close collaboration with the publisher is important, an over-reliance can hinder a studio's creative autonomy. Most good publishing managers discourage this kind of dependency, as they believe in empowering developers to make their own decisions. A strong publishing partner provides the necessary support, insights, and training to developers, enabling them to learn from industry expertise and data. However, it's essential for studios to strike a balance between leveraging publisher resources and trusting their own creative and data-informed decisions. This balance leads to better innovation, more confident teams, and stronger games in the market. As my good friend Abhimanyu Kumar once said in a call, "A good studio is a studio who are creative driven but data informed and has good collaborative relationship with their publisher".

GameNGen and Abundance Google's GameNGen will revolutionize game creation, making it possible for anyone to create a game that rivals AAA titles. It's an exciting leap forward, but it also raises important questions about the future of content in the gaming world. As the barriers to creating high-quality games lower, we may see a flood of new content. While this democratization is thrilling, it could also lead to market saturation with games that look impressive but lack depth. This reminds me of the early days of photography, where every shot required careful thought and composition because of the medium's limitations. Today, we take photos of every moment, often with little consideration. In the same way that not every picture we take of our breakfast or a dog in sunglasses is worth sharing, not every game created with GameNGen will be worth playing. There's something to be said for the intentionality that comes with limitations, and the same will apply to game creation. In a world where anyone can make a game, careful creative curation will become more critical than ever in distinguishing the truly great from the merely good. GameNGen could open up incredible opportunities for indie developers, allowing them to create games that previously required a massive budget and team. I hope this leads to a vibrant, robust indie market of innovative and creative games. However, there's also the risk of being overwhelmed by a flood of lower-quality content that dilutes the market. The challenge will be ensuring that this democratization doesn't just result in a sea of "cheap, uninteresting" games (sunglass dogs) but instead fosters a community where the best ideas rise to the top. As we move into this new era, the role of creators as curators and storytellers will be more important than ever. The tools may be more accessible, but the need for thoughtful, intentional creativity remains unchanged.

 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗔𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘀? The year 2024 is no different in terms of launching new methods. However, indie developers are no longer small players, they are now directly competing with the big companies. Games like 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘌𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥, and 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 have become very popular and often sell more copies than big-budget games that cost over 100 million dollars to create. Although this is only a few percent of all indie games, when the other portion have not achieved any success. That being said, many AAA titles are criticized before release and so much is expected of the projects that disappointment and low sales follow upon release. AAA studios usually have teams of over 500 people and spend more than $60 million to $100 million on each game. These companies use successful methods, big advertising efforts, and modern designs to attract large crowds. For instance, making Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla cost more than $120 million, and Activision’s Call of Duty games have marketing budgets that are more than $𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 for each game. In 2024, these big companies are struggling against smaller indie studios that have much fewer resources. Indie games are proving that success isn’t just about big budgets or flashy visuals—it’s about innovation, player engagement, and flexibility. Only Up, a game developed with a small team, achieved over 50,000 downloads with virtually no marketing budget, driven by engaging gameplay and community interest. Indie developers can experiment with fresh ideas and emerging technologies like web3, offering asset ownership, real-money earning. The numbers tell the story: Web3 indie games are not just holding their own—they're excelling. A recent GDC report shows that indie web3 games keep players 𝟰.𝟱 times longer than big AAA games and make 𝟳.𝟮 times more money from each player. Palworld has made a lot of money from multiplayer features, showing that independent games are doing better than some big, expected games. Moreover, the lower cost of indie game development allows studios to be agile and innovative. On the other hand, AAA games need to attract a large number of players to cover their high expenses. This makes them follow familiar patterns and take fewer chances with new ideas. Looking ahead, indie games have always been an important part of the industry. We think these kinds of success stories of small studios are already changing industries. Investors looking at the growing budgets in AAA projects and the risks of failure are unlikely to approve new expensive projects. This doesn't apply to sequels that fans are waiting for (TES 6... 🥰). Indie games change our idea of success in the game industry, because they can earn a lot thanks to new types of monetization and technical possibilities. https://pyxidis.tech/ #pyxidis #gametesting #gamedevelopment #gamedev #indie #gametech #gaming #SaaS #playtesting #QA

Creator-published indie game, Animal Well, showcases that creators can drive awareness, sales, and user acquisition for video games. Published by Big Mode, an indie game publisher founded by Videogamedunkey, Animal Well hit the Steam Top Sellers list directly after its release. According to Statista, about 99% of games released on Steam come from small independent game studios, and most of these games never become a top seller. When indie games do succeed, creators often play a crucial role in discovering and leading the conversation around hits like Among Us, Lethal Company, and BattleBit Remastered. The viral success of these games demonstrates the strong influence creators have on consumers. This is why a large portion of video game marketing budgets is allocated to influencers/creators. Let’s consider creators involved in publishing and development. Alongside Videogamedunkey, other gaming creators venturing into publishing and development include: - One True King (OTK Media), which founded video game publisher, Mad Mushroom - Andre Rebelo (Typical Gamer) who is building a UEFN business/studio, JOGO Video games are a hit-driven business and, while creators cannot make a game inherently ‘good,’ they are a powerful lever for discoverability. As the creator economy grows, I believe we will see more success stories from authentic partnerships between indie developers and endemic creators, where developers exchange equity or revenue shares for promotion and/or distribution from creators.

Webcomics and anime are booming—what’s the next frontier for comics creators? The webcomics is a $7Bn market that is forecasted to double by 2033. 🚀 And with Webtoon’s recent $2.7 billion IPO, it’s clear that this industry is growing and reaching new frontiers. That said, as someone who's been lucky to experience the incredible growth of the games industry first hand, I've been on a mission to enable easy access to game-making and helping comic creators tap into the $184 billion games market with 3.4 billion gamers worldwide. As you can see in the video we're succeeding and I want to share how. At Dorian we’re enabling webcomic creators to turn their stories into games easily. By integrating game mechanics, creators can offer fans agency and replay value that multiplies the impact of their stories. Unlike linear mediums, games enable fans choose their love interests and customize their adventures, making each experience uniquely personal. And here’s the best part: this can be achieved by small teams of just 1-2 people, without the need for engineers or massive budgets. Every day, I witness small teams on Dorian crafting characters and stories that captivate fans and outcompete many professional studios in terms of traction. These creators are making impact by diving deep into subcultures, embracing risk and learning faster than a big studios can. And this speed of learning and direct collaboration with fans enables small teams to innovate BIG. I’m incredibly grateful to these creators and fans for trusting Dorian and producing games beyond any of my dreams when I started Dorian. To achieve this we've been focusing on what matters: empowering creators to build their worlds and characters without distractions. Our platform is coding-free and free to use, allowing creators to concentrate on storytelling. Only the content fans love makes money, so creators get fast & clear signals on what their audience wants. This results in culturally impactful and financially successful products tuned to fans’ tastes. Discover new worlds on Dorian Want to support emerging game creators? Dive into ValerieOS’ queer pirate romance adventure, ROMANCING THE PIRATE! With iconic love interests and stunning seafaring settings, this adventure is just one of the three games Valerie has launched on Dorian in the past year. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gBp6DX6i

Product quality and long-term operation are the key. Launching a new hit now is not as simple, but even hyper-casual games, as it turns out, can live for years

It's fascinating to see how the games industry is evolving to adapt to the changing landscape. How do you think these shifts will impact the types of games we see in the future?