The Games Fund to Champion Women Gamers

The Games Fund wants to create a more inclusive ecosystem for women gamers. Gaming, once considered merely a children's activity, has now grown into a dominant force in the global entertainment industry. This shift from a niche interest to a major player has changed perceptions and unlocked vast investment potential, particularly in emerging markets. On a global scale, the gaming market is forecasted to reach $282.3 billion this year and expand to $363.2 billion by 2027, with an audience of 1.472 million users. In the MENA region, the gaming industry is estimated to be worth $6.34 billion in 2024, projected to grow to $10.69 billion by 2029, representing an 11.02% increase. This growth is primarily fueled by greater access to technology, a youthful population, rising disposable incomes, and the availability of high-speed mobile internet and gaming hardware. As a result, […]

Ilia Eremeev September 2

Journal

Dynamics Of Gaming Deals

We partnered with my favorite analytical platform, InvestGame, to analyze the trends in video game investments over the past five years and created an internal presentation for The Games Fund. I decided to share this report with the community and held a seminar earlier this year in Belgrade, Serbia. Now, I’m excited to present this updated and enhanced analysis to you, which I believe will be useful for gaming company founders and investors to reflect on investment dynamics and their underlying causes.The key takeaway is that the real challenge lies not in securing the initial round of funding but in achieving full funding and successfully delivering the product. While competition for promising early-stage startups remains intense, many struggle to secure follow-on rounds. Early-stage investors are a part of the ecosystem and should work in sync with larger partners. Saying so, […]

Ilia Eremeev September 2

Journal

Inside The Investor’s Mind

For the sake of transparency in the industry, I decided to create a presentation and share how we at The Games Fund make investment decisions, identifying what we perceive as risks and opportunities. We believe this process shouldn't be a mystery or a black box for founders. There is enough struggle already in fundraising. So, why not explain our thought process and allow founders to measure their pitch against our framework? This can lead to a better understanding of the process and ultimately improve the chances of successful fundraising in these challenging times. This is our perspective, other funds may have different views, but I believe the general principles are universal.

Ilia Eremeev August 12

Journal

I love fundraising!

I love fundraising! All the excitement, challenges, achievements, despair, sweet taste of victory, and pain of rejection. The failures and learnings, deal with handshakes and ghosting. One moment, you feel like a winner, the next - a failure, only to wake up to an email that makes you feel like a king again. This humbling experience brings VCs closest to what founders feel. Many VCs dislike fundraising because they hate being in a weak position, asking for and facing rejection. Especially now, when despite it being a technically perfect moment for investments, the sentiment is harsh. However, I believe VCs should embrace this experience. In TGF I, we have 40 investors, founders, and private and public companies worldwide. You can imagine how many "NOs" a no-name management team endured to get 40 "YESes." Nothing beats getting a YES!

Ilia Eremeev August 5

Journal

The Second Quarter of 2024 Was Full of Amazing Deals

Excited to share a sneak peek into our upcoming Global Gaming Deals Report for Q2’24 by InvestGame. All these deals were covered in our weekly news digest, and I even wrote detailed analyses for some of them! To celebrate the end of the quarter, I’d also like to share some of my favorite texts about the most significant transactions of the quarter, which were particularly fun to write🏰 Nintendo Acquired Shiver 🏰The acquisition of the studio behind the Hogwarts Legacy port for Nintendo Switch was an amazing opportunity to delve into Nintendo’s unique strategy.📱 Voodoo Acquired BeReal 📱This unexpected deal took everyone by surprise and remains intriguing post-closure, especially with BeReal already introducing ads!💼 Embracer Splitting into Three Companies 💼I’ve been covering Embracer’s deals since 2020, and writing about this split felt like watching the final episodes of a beloved […]

Andrei Zubov July 19

Highlights

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

Global Gaming Report Q2 2024

Following the recent recognition by InvestGame, The Games Fund was once again named the top #4 early-stage gaming VC fund in the world by Drake Star, confirming our status as a leading VC firm in the industry. As Eitan Reisel wisely stated in his post - VC funds' success is the success of founders who put their trust in us. We are incredibly proud to be trusted and lead first rounds in the most promising European gaming companies from Poland and Cyprus (where we are an absolute dominator!) to France, Estonia, Norway, the UK, Germany, and beyond, and happy to see them growing, raising new rounds from top growth stage investors and strategics, launching games, and conquering top charts. We are dedicated to our vision and our mission to back the outstanding founders, of all creeds, in often overlooked regions […]

Ilia Eremeev July 8

Journal

Out of 124 recent gaming investments, only 19 in Europe?

InvestGame recently released a new report on business activity in the video game industry, and it's quite positive! Make sure to check it out - link here. I am happy to see The Games Fund sits firmly among the most active early-stage gaming funds, leading investments in outstanding gaming startups. Despite all the challenges, we believe that great times, great games, and even more success stories are ahead of us all. I also wanted to address an interesting question that Olle Pridiuksson recently raised.He asked, "Why, out of 124 recent gaming investments, only 19 were in Europe? What is wrong with European gaming companies?"My answer is: nothing is wrong!1. The largest funds are based in the US, and US funds mostly invest in US companies.2. The EU startup legal framework is extremely fragmented and quite complex. We've invested directly in […]

Ilia Eremeev June 3

Journal

A few thoughts about missing opportunities.

A few thoughts about missing opportunities. In life, the FOMO pain is real, especially when you are actually missing that opportunity. Life feels so bitter, and disappointing. It brutally sucks! But I learned the hard way that there is always another opportunity waiting around the corner, and another one, and another one. And so many times in my life and career, missing something actually led to a way better outcome - another deal, another job, another meeting, that would have been missed if I hadn't lost the first one. Why am I even thinking about this now? Well, some time ago, we did not get into the deal, and I was really upset, and FOMO had me crushed. But today, we landed an amazing deal at a whole new level, and we would not have had the bandwidth and capacity […]

Ilia Eremeev March 1

Journal

The mobile games investment landscape is currently bleak.

Let's face the fact: The mobile games investment landscape is currently bleak. If you're currently seeking investment exclusively for mobile games, you're in for the hardest time of your life. Investors and venture capitalists (VCs) are not prioritizing mobile games given the current landscape.Why? Because of:1. The overall economic situation: There are widespread layoffs and increasing costs of living. Everyone is scrutinizing their spending habits more closely.2. Post-IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) challenges: High Cost Per Install (CPI) rates and related issues have arisen after the implementation of IDFA changes. The impact of IDFA changes is widely recognized. Optimizing games and user acquisition (UA) for the ideal audience no longer has shortcuts as it used to. Games need to be developed, operated, and scaled with new approaches and models. Until these models become more widely accepted and reliable, investors are skeptical […]

Antti Kananen August 25

gameinvestment

Login to enjoy full advantages

Go Premium!

Enjoy the full advantage of the premium access.

Stop following

Cancel subscription