InvestGame: Q2 2024 Gaming Investments

As we progress through 2024, the gaming industry is showcasing signs of recovery after a tumultuous period, with mobile gaming taking the spotlight. InvestGame Q2 2024 Report highlights significant strides in mobile gaming, making it the primary driver of growth and innovation. Here are the key takeaways: 1. Mobile Gaming Market: Asia Leads the Way Asia remains the powerhouse for mobile gaming, driving significant IAP revenues. The top new releases in Q2, including "Dungeon & Fighter: Origin" and "Wuthering Waves," underscore the region's dominance in the mobile gaming market. With millions of installs and substantial revenue figures, these games highlight the region's influence and the continued growth of mobile gaming globally. 2. Private Investments: A New Benchmark Q2 2024 saw a remarkable milestone with $1 billion invested across 116 rounds. This quarter sets a new benchmark for private investments, with […]

Ömer Yakabagi July 17

Journal

Ukrainian Gaming Success: Playdoku Developer Burny Games

Played Playdoku already? Meet the developer behind - Burny Games. Google Awards & Global Acclaim - CEO Anatolii Henis shares the backstory with us. Burny’s inspiring founding story, evolution, top titles, innovative approaches, and more. Burny Team: 55 HQ: Kyiv, Ukraine Top Title: Playdoku Genre: Logic Puzzle Tech: Unity & PlayFab Backend Hey, isn't their logo just great? The eyes... What's Burny's founding story? Our journey began officially on March 1, 2022. It was meant to be a significant milestone for our team, but it coincided with the outbreak of a full-scale war. This unexpected turn dampened our spirits, yet it was a pivotal moment. We faced a choice: succumb to demotivation or channel all our energies into building a resilient Ukrainian business. We chose the latter. Our initial releases were crafted amidst checkpoints and shelters across Ukraine. We fought […]

Ömer Yakabagi April 12

Journal

MAU Vegas Wrap-up: Key Takeaways

Overall, MAU'24 was fantastic, massive comeback here! It was a bit like stepping into multiple worlds at once: All about finding your crew to get the best out of it. Though MAU panels offer some insights, they were not the best choice for seasoned industry veterans focused on business - real value lies in networking. Top Conversations & Key Discourse Privacy Sandbox Moloco SDK Layoffs Gen AI What I enjoyed most over MAU Sin City? Smiles were literally as abundant as the chips at the roulette tables! Moreover, I loved the Business Hustle & Party paradise, perfectly mirroring the high-vibe of Mobile Gaming! Business-wise, the coolest part is the amount of quality people you meet – can chat directly with the folks who call the shots. It was super cool to chat with industry titans such as Supercell, EA, Zynga, […]

Ömer Yakabagi April 10

Journal

Data.ai: Mobile Market Forecast 2030

Get ready for the explosive growth of the mobile app economy, projected to soar to $2.2 trillion by 2030, with a staggering $288 billion anticipated in 2030 alone. Exploring the $1.7 trillion future of mobile apps by region, category, and platform. During MAU Vegas, Lexi Sydow guided us through the report. Key takeaways are: %77 of consumer spending will be only in America & Asia By 2030, Asia is projected to represent 70% of all downloads Significant growth prospects in Central America & Middle East India predominantly favors Android, yet iOS presence is significant Downloads & IAP Mobile game spend declined between 2021-22 and dipped slightly in 2023. Some factors, like economic conditions, are expected to be temporary. Others, such as increased privacy restrictions and regulation in China, will likely continue to dampen growth into the future. Mobile Gaming: Positive Growth to […]

Ömer Yakabagi April 7

Journal

AppLovin & Adjust: 2024 Gaming App Insights

We all know that nobody likes 1000-words articles, but this one worths it! Let's take a deep dive into Adjust data and hear from AppLovin and SparkLabs for expert insights on implementing the right marketing mix and activating the right channels, leveraging CTV for maximum impact, and creating high-quality creatives at scale. State of Play on the Mobile Games Market Gaming app installs and sessions faced challenges in 2023, with a 2% decrease in installs and a 7% drop in sessions. However, there's a positive shift in Q4 2023, with installs increasing by 7%, a trend expected to continue. Sessions in Jan'24 rose by 3% compared to Jan'23. While LATAM was the only region with YoY growth in 2023, Q4 showed significant improvement. APAC saw a 3% increase in YoY installs, EMEA rose by 12%, North America by 6%, and […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 29

Journal

Mobile Gaming: AppsFlyer 2024 Performance Index

In the realm of mobile marketing, deciding where to invest is like playing chess. AppsFlyer analyzed 19 billion app installs of over 30,000 apps, and factored 9 metrics covering market reach, user value and cost of media, ad spend. Tier 1 Markets Dominate - T2 takes 45% of High-performing Spots App marketing is truly a global playground: 19 markets for games on Android, and 10 on iOS. T1 markets command 77% of UA spend, while T2 getting 21%. T1 controlled the top 7 spots by overall score on iOS with a significant 55% higher average score than tier 2 countries. On Android, reach plays a big role with three massive tier 2 markets in the top 5 (India, Brazil, and Indonesia) with a smaller 27% gap between T1 & T2. While T1 markets are the obvious choices in most cases, […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 29

Highlights

Brawl Stars: Revenue Soars 9x, MAU Doubles in 2024

Supercell just dropped some mind-blowing stats about Brawl Stars at GDC, and let's just say, it's been one heck of a ride. Revenue soaring 8.8 times higher than last year, with MAU doubling to 2.4x - Talk about leveling up!? But wait, it gets even better. Back in the day, early 2023, Brawl Stars hit a bit of a rough patch – retention and revenue were on the ropes. So, what did the Brawl team do? They went full-on superhero mode, tossing out loot boxes like yesterday's news and rolling in with a slew of new features. We're talking randomized rewards, special moves for the die-hard fans – the works! And guess what? It worked like a charm! Revenue went from snoozeville to superstar status, shooting up by a jaw-dropping 8.8 times from June 2023 to February 2024. Plus, Brawl […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 27

Journal

Casual Gaming in 2024: Insights for Developers Eyeing Success

2023 proved to be equally challenging for the mobile market as its predecessor, as user spending dipped by approximately 3.5%, following the declining trend observed in 2022. Despite this, key genres remained relatively unaffected, with download rates maintaining stability. Revenues decline was unevenly distributed across genres, with some experiencing more pronounced impacts while others thrived. Additionally, there was a noticeable decrease in both the quantity and success rate of new releases. AppMagic aimed to answer the following questions: When releasing a game in 2024, which genre should I choose to make the most of it? How do I operate an existing project in order to maintain and increase earnings? Countries and Genres Examined For the Research The study primarily delves into the performance of the mobile games market across Tier-1 West countries, encompassing nations such as the US, the UK, […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 21

Journal

Monopoly GO Hits $2bn in Revenue: A Breakout Success Story

Scopely's Monopoly GO has emerged as one of the most lucrative mobile games of 2023. Surpassing $2 billion in lifetime revenue since its launch in April 2023, consistently ranked among Top 3 worldwide. Monopoly GO makes up 10.5% of ALL 2024 Global Revenue for casual games, no surprise? Profitability and User Acquisition Scopely co-CEO Javier Ferreira provided insights into Scopely's UA spend, indicating that it accounts for less than a quarter of the game's lifetime revenue, suggesting a spend of under $500 million. Moreover, he highlighted the game's impressive marketing recoup rates, remaining below 120 days, and its profitability, comparable to more mature chart-topping games. He added that Monopoly Go! achieved the $2 bn milestone just three months after reaching $1 bn in lifetime revenue. Monopoly GO boasts over 150M downloads and attracts over 10M daily players. With players logging […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 20

Journal

Game Over: Gaming Industry Hit by Layoffs in 2024

In 2024, layoffs in the gaming industry continue. With over 5,000 affected just in January, it's now around 10,000 already in Q1. Mobile gaming revenue continues to grow 50% year over year. The number of players has nearly doubled, then what's wrong? Bill Roper, Lunacy Games CEO, brings a unique perspective here. “I think that there’s just a humanity that has been lost in our industry, and it’s up to us to try to bring it back”. “I really think we’re going to see a onslaught of small companies starting up that are driven by this desire to create better workplaces in order to make better games.” After recently publishing Layoffs in Data.ai, we've already seen more to come... Microsoft Takes #1 in the Number of Layoffs - 1,900 IGN was the first to report on January 25 that Microsoft […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 20

Journal

Government Supports Growth: Turkish Game Studios Enjoy Tax Exemption

During his presentation at PGC San Francisco, Tuğbek Ölek, Head of Advisory Board of TOGED, sheds light on Turkey's tax incentives to support its rapidly expanding mobile gaming industry. Here's the speech from PGC: Zero Tax + Incentives: Turkiye's Bold Leap Into GameDev The Turkish mobile gaming industry thrives with big names like Dream Games, Peak, and Rollic. These studios showcase Turkey's global gaming prowess, with half of them based in Istanbul, making it Europe's second-largest gaming hub after London. Ankara also plays a significant role as Turkey's second-largest gaming hub. Are Turkish game studios exempt from paying taxes? Investing in gaming ventures enjoys the benefit of being entirely tax-free, courtesy of Turkey's absence of capital gains tax. Ölek elucidated that this translates to a significant advantage: in the event of a $10 million exit resulting from an investment, the […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 18

Journal

2024 – State of Mobile Gaming: Trends and Challenges by Data.ai

Get ready for a wild ride! 2023 was a bumpy journey for mobile gaming, with spending dropping for the second year in a row. Despite the hurdles, better days ahead! Navigating Turbulence: Market Dynamics and Challenges The mobile gaming market encountered several obstacles in recent years. According to the State of Mobile Gaming 2024 report, global consumer spending in mobile games dropped for the second year in a row, reaching $107 billion in 2023, while downloads also declined to nearly 88 billion. Spotlight on Success: Breakthrough Titles and Achievements Despite market challenges, individual mobile game titles managed to shine through. Seven titles surpassed $1 billion in consumer spending in 2023, with Gardenscapes achieving this milestone for the first time. Notable launches like Monopoly GO and Honkai: Star Rail also enjoyed rapid success, reflecting the resilience and adaptability of certain games […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 18

Ömer Yakabagi

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