Why does CVC play a bigger role than ever?

Written by our partner, InvestGame. Lately, with financial investors less keen on backing gaming studios, many studios are exploring alternative options—returning to the industry’s roots with publishing partnerships and strategic investors taking the lead. Corporate-led transactions aren’t just funding studios; they’re shaping the industry’s future. Look no further than Epic Games: Disney’s $1.5B investment made headlines, but it wasn’t the only one—Sony and Kirkbi led another massive $2B round. And consider FromSoftware, the creator of the souls-like genre (Elden Ring, Dark Souls series), which has been backed by Sony and Tencent. These deals aren’t just capital injections; they represent strategic, long-term bets on the future of gaming. We’ve tracked this shift for years, but 2024 made one thing clear: corporate-led transactions aren’t just creeping in—they’re taking over private investments in gaming. Over 40% of gaming’s nine-figure deals are now corporate-backed, and we predict that corporate influence will continue growing in […]

Gamigion February 20

Journal

AppLovin to Sell Its Gaming Division for $900M to Strengthen Its Ad Tech Focus

Prepared by our partner Investgame, cheers! US-based mobile gaming and ad tech company AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) has signed a term sheet to sell its entire mobile gaming division for $900m to an undisclosed private company, according to an SEC filing. The consideration will be $900m, paid in $500m in cash and $400m in common shares of the acquirer. To finance the cash portion, the acquirer will borrow up to $250m, and if it fails to secure such funding, AppLovin will provide financing through promissory notes. The mobile gaming division comprises 10 studios, including Machine Zone, PeopleFun, Magic Tavern, Lion Studios, Belka, Athena, Clipwire, Leyi, ZenLife, and Zero Gravity. Deal multiples (based on 2024 Apps Segment Financials) are shown in the table below, calculated using adjusted EBITDA, which excludes stock-based compensation and restructuring costs and may exclude some central group costs. […]

Gamigion February 18

Journal

Mobile Gaming Benchmarks 2025

Checked GameAnalytics' Report? The report is based on data from 11,600 gaming applications across 9 regions on 2 platforms (iOS & Android) in 16 different genres. The MAU of all projects used for the report exceeds 1.48 billion. Retention Benchmarks ❗️The report uses classic, not Rolling Retention. By the end of 2024, the average D1 Retention for the top 25% of games ranges from 26.48% to 27.69%. This is worse than the 2023 results (28-29%). For the least successful 25% of projects, D1 Retention is at 10-11.5%. On iOS, the top 25% of projects have a higher average D1 Retention - 31-33% compared to 25-27% on Android. The median D7 Retention across all projects ranges from 3.42% to 3.94%. This is, again, lower than the 2023 results (4-5%). For the top 25% of projects, this indicator is at 7-8%, while […]

Gamigion February 17

Highlights

Dream Games $2.5B Deal?

Something big can happen, as reported by our partner InvestGame. Turkish mobile games developer Dream Games is preparing to raise $2.5B through debt and equity financing. They aim to secure $1.25B in debt from private credit lenders and an additional $1.25B in equity. The funds will be used to buy out existing investors. If completed, the deal will almost double Dream Games’ valuation from $2.75B to $5B. The company’s founders plan to retain a 70% ownership stake after the transaction. This marks Dream Games’ fifth fundraising round since its founding in 2019: — In Nov’19, Dream Games secured a $7.5m Seed funding round led by Makers Fund;— In Mar’21, Dream Games raised a $50m Series A funding round led by Index Ventures;— In Jun’21, Dream Games secured a $155m Series B in a funding round, co-led by Index Ventures and Makers Fund, valuing the company at $1B;— In Jan’22, […]

Gamigion February 16

Reports

State of Gaming & Influencer Marketing 2025

Source: AAA Agency Is the gaming industry bouncing back after recent declines? Is mobile gaming overtaking other formats? How are the PC and console doing? Is indie gaming on the rise? What’s the future of game development in 2025? How are platforms evolving for influencer marketing? What were the standout gaming campaigns of 2024? Long-term vs. short-term — which works best and when? What influencer trends and challenges should you watch for in 2025? State of Gaming & Influencer Marketing report answers all these questions and beyond, exploring the pulse of two powerhouse industries: video games and influencer marketing. The report is based on data from leading analytics platforms, industry summaries, and expert insights. This AAA Agency report aims to overview the gaming & influencer marketing landscape throughout 2024 & ponder what to expect from 2025. We’ve gathered data from trusted […]

Gamigion February 15

Highlights

Jobs in Mobile Gaming: 32

8-15 Feb 👉🏻 Data from Gamigion.com/jobs 🕺🏻 Dev 💻 Art 🎨 Product 📱 Marketing 🎯 Business 💰 Data 📈 QA ⚒️ 💻 Dev Senior Analytics Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 🇲🇽 Senior Software Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Staff Engineer - Monopoly GO! Scopely 🇪🇸 Analytics Engineering Manager Scopely 🇪🇸 Game programmer & New Game Founder, Spark Supercell 🇫🇮 Senior Client Programmer, Project R.I.S.E Supercell 🇨🇳 IT Technical Producer Supercell 🇫🇮 Software Engineer 2 Zynga 🇮🇳 Senior Software Engineer Zynga 🇮🇳 Software Engineer (Live-ops) - Gram Games Zynga 🇬🇧 Principal Software Engineer- Full Stack Zynga 🇮🇳 Lead Technical Program Manager/Lead Producer - Systems, ZMGT Zynga 🇺🇸 Senior Software Engineer (Client) - Wizard of Oz Slots Zynga 🇺🇸 Senior Performance Engineer - Echtra Games Zynga 🇺🇸 Technical Account Manager Playtika 🇵🇱 IT Engineering Team Lead Playtika 🇺🇦 Technical Product Manager Moon Active 🇮🇱 Unity Developer […]

Gamigion February 15

Highlights

AppLovin divests all its Game Studios for $900 million.

Another day, another AppLovin update! As reported by mobilegamer.biz, AppLovin is offloading its ten-game studio portfolio for $900 million as it pivots to focus entirely on Ad Tech. Check out: AppLovin Empire: Monopoly in Mobile Gaming? AppLovin’s decision to sell its gaming studios signals a major shift in the mobile gaming industry. While the company has not revealed the buyer, the move highlights the growing dominance of ad monetization over traditional game publishing. We’ve seen similar transitions before, such as [another company’s example]. Given these trends, it raises the question: will more gaming giants follow suit? This means Machine Zone, PeopleFun, Magic Tavern, Lion Studios, Belka, Athena, Clipwire, Leyi, Zenlife, and Zero Gravity will soon be under new ownership. However, AppLovin has not disclosed the buyer. More: AppLovin’s Gaming Portfolio CEO and co-founder Adam Foroughi announced the decision during the company’s […]

Gamigion February 13

Journal

Phynd’s $10M Bet: Mobile Gaming to Smart TVs with Ad-Supported Cloud Play

Phynd’s $10M Bet: Bringing Mobile Gaming to Smart TVs with Ad-Supported Cloud Play Phynd, a cloud gaming platform designed for smart TVs, has secured $10 million in funding to disrupt the gaming industry. Led by Wellington Management, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, the investment will fuel Phynd’s 2025 beta launch, offering a subscription-free gaming experience powered by ads. A New Frontier for Mobile GamingPhynd’s focus on smart TVs presents an opportunity for mobile gaming studios to expand their reach beyond smartphones. With 500 million smart TVs globally capable of supporting cloud gaming, developers can port mobile games to a larger screen without additional hardware. This model aligns with the free-to-play (F2P) and ad-driven economy of mobile gaming, allowing studios to monetize their games via non-intrusive sponsorships and in-game advertising. Disrupting the Traditional Gaming ModelUnlike Google Stadia or Xbox Cloud […]

Gamigion February 12

Journal

Advertising’s first trillion-dollar year

Global ad spend surpassed the trillion-dollar mark for the first time ever in 2024, thanks to a 10.5% growth rate, according to WARC. That’s both the strongest growth in 6 years and the largest increase in absolute dollar value ever — $104B in incremental advertising spend worldwide — if we disregard the 2021 post-Covid recovery. So yeah: marketers are competing in a super-heated ecosystem. And just to turn up that thermostat even more, Q4 was the hottest part of the hottest year on record, with 30% of the year’s ad spend: a staggering $324 billion. But we know that a good chunk of that holiday quarter spending is not traditional user acquisition. It’s retail and shopping: gifts and personal indulgences. User acquisition is a little different: it tends to be smarter spend. And that means many mobile growth experts spend in Q2 and […]

Gamigion February 12

Reports

2024 Global Mobile Games Marketing Trends by SocialPeta

Source: SocialPeta The global mobile gaming market in 2024 continues to grow, fueled by increased smartphone penetration in emerging markets and strong in-game purchase trends in established markets like North America and Europe. Both large and small companies are expanding internationally, with significant growth potential in these regions. Key Highlights: Mobile Game Market Continues to Recover: Over 250K advertisers participated in global mobile game ad campaigns in 2024. Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan Are the Most Competitive Markets: These regions are the only ones where the average number of creatives exceeds 100. The U.S. leads in the number of advertisers, surpassing Europe. RPG Games Lead in Creatives: RPG games have the highest average number of creatives, exceeding 220 on average—more than any other genre. iOS Creatives Are on the Decline: The share of iOS creatives has dropped below 30%, with new creatives now almost […]

Gamigion February 10

Journal

Mobile Gaming Today: 46

Hola Fam ☃️ Just published our Podcast with Matej, was a big FUN! Bon appetiiit 🦄 Mobile Marketing » Top 10 Gaming Publishers in IAP Revenue in 2024 🚀 1287326723 new AI tools every day! 🤝 Power of Partnership: Mobile Gaming Collaborations ⚠️ Careful with the new adROAS campaigns in Meta! 🔮 The Future of F2P Games & Hybrid Monetization 🐋 How to Monetize Whales Through Milestone Events 🌍 Monetization in emerging markets presents a significant challenge. 🎮 Tracking Game Releases & Transfers 🔥 Screw Master 3D: Hybrid Casual is on Fire 🏆 Top 10 Tripeaks Solitaire Games Industry Highlights » Türkiye: Rising Gaming Empire’s 5-Year 🧩 Why Some Puzzle Games are More Addicting? 🇻🇳 Vietnam’s Gaming Ecosystem & Regulatory Changes 📉 Take-Two Gaming Report: Losses Increased by 36% 🚨 Apple Faces Investigation in China Over Monopoly 📊 MTG posts […]

Gamigion February 10

Highlights

Jobs in Mobile Gaming: 31

🎨 963 Jobs in Mobile Gaming » 1-8 February 👉🏻 Data from Gamigion.com/jobs 🕺🏻 Dev 💻 Art 🎨 Product 📱 Marketing 🎯 Business 💰 Data 📈 QA ⚒️ 💻 Dev Senior Analytics Engineer Scopely 🇲🇽 Senior Full Stack Engineer (Platform) - Scopely 🇮🇪 🇪🇸 Game programmer & New Game Founder, Spark Supercell 🇫🇮 Senior Game Programmer, Squad Busters Supercell 🇫🇮 Senior Software Engineer- Website Development Zynga 🇮🇳 Senior Software Engineer 1 Zynga 🇮🇳 Senior Software Developer - Small Giant Games Zynga 🇫🇮 Principal Software Engineer - Developer Services, ZMGT Zynga 🇨🇦 Principal Software Engineer - Game Services, ZMGT Zynga 🇨🇦 Senior Software Engineer (Client) - Wizard of Oz Slots Zynga 🇺🇸 C# Client developer Playtika 🇵🇱 Unity Developer Playtika 🇵🇱 Unity Technical Lead Playtika 🇵🇱 Software Developer Moon Active 🇵🇱 Unity Developer Moon Active 🇮🇱 Technical Support Engineer (Tier 3) […]

Gamigion February 7

Gamigion

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