Bill Money

It has been a common and recurring theme. At some point I want to talk about companies that have been practicing bad practices. Though I believe first step to make and prove that there are alternate ways and they lead to better productivity and work spaces. Other than that, we do need to push for betterment and talk about what that truly means. What you said is truly on point and heart wrenching.

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Sunday thoughts: I've lost many photos from before 2012, documenting memories from various esports events I've been a part of, but the World Cyber Games 2012 in Kunshan, China, stands out as one of my highlights. Our primary goal back then was to cultivate the esports community by organizing tournaments and events for participants to train and compete across Southeast Asia. We aimed to qualify teams in the region and send representatives to China, championing pride for their countries rather than just pursuing cash prizes. The passion for competing with their favorite games remained the strongest motivation for esports players at the time. It was a simpler era. In today's landscape, the challenge lies in developing business strategies and new monetization models to sustain organizations or companies. Additionally, there's a challenge in educating brands, as many of the organization's approaches are often siloed to specific interests, thus not giving opportunities for brands to create a tailor-fit strategy that is beneficial for them in the long term. Looking ahead, I'm personally committed to infusing our projects with passion, especially when it comes to education. I truly believe in what we're doing, and I'm excited about the possibilities ahead. Our journey is about making a difference, starting in the Philippines and hopefully spreading across Southeast Asia. WP / Gaming #esports #gaming

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Sumo Digital announced a 15% cut in its workforce, roughly impacting 250 individuals. Among these 250 individuals was the team of Timbre Games, which also confirmed that the studio was being shut down. Timbre Games was founded in 2021 and made a part of Pipework Studios. Although Timbre had yet to launch any games, its website indicates that it was in the middle of two game projects. Unfortunately, game developers face more loss than the parent company when something like this happens. Who knows how Timbre's team might be coping after putting in millions of efforts to build the games and losing everything in a single blink? In their support, this is list 2 of some of the Timbreeos who were impacted by the closure. Every bit from the community counts, so requesting you all to help this reach recruiters and game studios currently hiring. Sophie Mallinson — In 2017, she was Arkane Studios' (Lyon) Narrative Designer who worked on Dishonored: Death of the Outsider and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. By 2019, she had become a Principal Narrative Designer for Arkane's Deathloop. It is quite interesting to note that after Arkane, she went on to work for EA on Star Wars and later for EA's own studio - Maxis Studios on The Sims Series. Nadia Lohan — With over a decade's worth of experience in Production, before Timbre, Nadia was a Producer at Blackbird Interactive and worked on Minecraft Legends. Notably, she has experience in the VFX industry and coordinated for blockbusters like Mulan, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Maleficent. Vivek Ramkumar — Here's a talented Game Designer who has worked on titles like Sleeping Dogs and Tryst, built his own first-person indie game, and has experience in LiveOps Design. Prior to Timbre, he was a senior Technical Designer for Relic Entertainment. Gerritt Turner — Before Timbre, Gerritt worked at Wizards of the Coast on a lot of Magic: The Gathering's writing, designing and overall creative. They even have an experience in Brand Writing for Hasbro. Yuliia Bocharova — Prior to Timbre, she was a Lead 3D Artist for Blackbird Interactive and worked there for 3+ years. You should check out her ArtStation portfolio: https://lnkd.in/gKEwykG5 Vincent-Gabriel Canadian — A talented VFX Artist who has worked for Studios like Frima, Behaviour Interactive, and Nesting Games. Vincent specializes in real-time VFX for video games! #layoffsupport

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Square Enix is celebrating a milestone for their unique RPG series, Octopath Traveler! The franchise has now surpassed a whopping 4 million copies sold worldwide. This news comes alongside the recent expansion of the series' availability. Both Octopath Traveler and its 2023 sequel, Octopath Traveler II, are now playable on Microsoft Xbox Game Pass for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. Additionally, the original game has finally arrived on Sony PlayStation 4 and 5, making the entire core series accessible on current consoles (excluding the mobile title "Champions of the Continent"). Interestingly, Square Enix confirmed the Octopath Traveler games will remain on Game Pass until January 2026 - a rare instance where a developer specifies the duration of a game's availability on the service. To further entice players, Octopath Traveler II just received a substantial update. It introduces a new game mode featuring powerful enemies and, for fans of the first game, a delightful crossover – the playable cast of the original Octopath Traveler joins the fray! Octopath Traveler II reached the 1 million sales mark in just three and a half months, while the original game hit 3 million sales in a little over four years (as of June 2023). It's unclear how much further sales figures have climbed since then. (source: https://lnkd.in/eAW3sQn3)

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Did you spend your childhood battling Pokémon in games or slinging cards? Pokémon is the No. 1 media franchise. What’s your favourite Generation? 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜 • Region: Kanto • Themes: Science • Years: 1996 – 1999 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗜 • Region: Johto • Themes: Cultural Traditions • Years: 1999 – 2002 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗜𝗜 • Region: Hoenn • Themes: The Environment • Years: 2002 – 2006 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗩 • Region: Sinnoh • Themes: Time and Space • Years: 2006 – 2010 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗩 • Region: Unova • Themes: Truth and Ideals • Years: 2010 – 2013 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗜 • Region: Kalos • Themes: Life, Death and the Ecosystem • Years: 2013 – 2016 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗜𝗜 • Region: Alola • Themes: Day and Night • Years: 2016 – 2019 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗜𝗜𝗜 • Region: Galar • Themes: England and Its Culture • Years: 2019 – 2022 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗫 • Region: Paldea • Themes: Past vs. the Future • Years: 2022 – present My top pick? Generation I ❤️ Oddish /\/\ |\ \ \ \// / o_o\ \____/ /_\/_\ Sources: TITLEMAX®, Wikipedia

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The experts' guide to mobile games monetisation: Part two

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Negotiating Service Contracts Service contract negotiation is a bit of an art form. Especially in games, nearly every project has some unique aspect that requires special consideration. As a result, each transaction takes on a slightly different shape. However, there’s one practice I keep seeing over and over again from buyers that consistently works against them: Demanding a concession on price at the tail end of a negotiation. This generally happens at the very last minute, when signatures are expected after months of meetings, interviews, proposals, audits, and contract negotiations. The reason it happens so often is that, most of the time, it ‘works.’ Service providers begrudgingly say yes, saving the buyer 5% or so. After all, at this point in the process, the provider feels like their choices are either to proceed with the project or lose it entirely. Deal fatigue is also a factor that usually works in the buyer’s favor. But let me tell you this: in service agreements, these unnegotiable last-minute price cuts are never worth it. Sure, you’ve shaved a couple of percentage points off your budget. It looks good in the short term—you’ve saved your company some money, which could be a nice line item in your upcoming performance review. But those few points cost you dearly. You just turned what was going to be an exciting new project into a cut-rate job. For contrast: by accepting the provider's bid, you also accept a promise from them that they will deliver outstanding work. If you cut the rate, you break that promise. You’ve undermined whatever trust you’ve built throughout the procurement process. Luckily for whoever negotiated the contract, they probably won’t have to deal with the fallout. The difference in these scenarios usually doesn’t become obvious until the project’s final stages—the polish, the final bugs, the crucial finishing touches. It’s here, when you’re making a big push to deliver, that your provider’s focus will instead be on exiting the project as quickly as they can, motivated to recover as much of the price cut as possible. If you had accepted their promise of an excellent final product, they would have no excuse. Their reputation is on the line. Maintaining goodwill in all your partnerships is worth far more to your overall project than a few percentage points.  After all, who is going to go to bat for you when things get tough?  Ultimately, I think this tactic is simply lazy. There are plenty of ways to negotiate better pricing that does not undermine trust. If it turns out you need to reduce the budget, be forthcoming with the provider and look for other areas where you can be flexible. Be creative, and spend time working alongside your future partner in good faith to come to a mutual plan of action. You both have the same end goal in mind.

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Power up your gaming experience with Maidaan's #MDNtokens Level up your game with $MDN Magic! Power your adventures with Maidaan's MDN tokens and unlock new possibilities. Are you ready to dominate? Visit: https://lnkd.in/gWwGNj4N #GamingRevolution #MDNTokens #MaidaanMagic #maidaangames #Cryptogaming #web3‌‌ #blockchain #cryptocurrency #cryptogames

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Business of games: 14 biggest funding rounds, partnerships, and trends from the last week Investment round-up details for May 4th week. #238 1. Nintendo acquires Switch port specialist Shiver Entertainment from Embracer 2. IGN Entertainment buys GamesIndustry, RockPaperShotgun, other Gamer Network outlets 3. Firaxis vets found a new developer Midsummer 4. Keywords Studios green lights £2 billion EQT Group buyout offer 5. Sinn Studio raises $2.5M for real-time PvP VR combat game 6. Sega veterans Jarvis Crofts, Luke Greenaway, and Mark Dallamore have formed a new publisher-agency hybrid, Alibi 7. Atari acquires Intellivision brand, uniting competitors from gaming's early years. 8. Relic Entertainment has partnered with UK-based investment firm Emona Capital to become fully independent after being sold by Sega in March. 9. Rolling Stone has returned to games media by launching a new section, Rolling Stone Gaming. 10. Anomaly has raised $1.45 million for an AI-driven Layer 3 Web3 gaming platform. 11. Elixir Games acquires RoboKiden and teams with Ava Labs 12. Swordsman Studio Lands $2.5M For New PvP VR Combat Game 13. Autodesk acquires Wonder Dynamics 14. Plarium and Big Fish up for sale at Aristocrat Top Trends: 1. Embracer CFO and deputy CEO Johan Ekström stepping down, 2. Sony making PlayStation mobile store for F2P games 3. Moonton not for sale as Bytedance stays in the game with new CEO 4. Sega reaches financial targets one full year ahead of schedule in record fiscal year #gamingIndustry #gamedesign #mobilegames #gamedev #gamedevelopment #gamedeveloper #indiedev #unity3d #madewithunity

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📊 Games & Numbers (01.05.24 - 14.05.24) 🎮 PC/console games ▪️Helldivers II sold 12 million copies in 12 weeks, surpassing the previous record holder, God of War: Ragnarok (11 million copies in 3 months). https://lnkd.in/dtaJ7B2e ▪️Hades II topped the chart of paid game sales on Steam from May 7th to May 14th. The peak online player count reached 103.5k. The first part's record was 37.7k. Video Game Insights estimates that the game has already been purchased 831 thousand times. https://lnkd.in/d9SuhviJ ▪️7 million people played Dead Island 2 over the year. These are not sales, as the game appeared on Game Pass in February. 2 million copies were bought in the first month. https://lnkd.in/dppn8vRh ▪️Koei Tecmo reported that Rise of the Ronin's sales exceeded each of the two Nioh parts in the first month (the first part sold only 3 million copies; the second - 2 million). https://lnkd.in/dppn8vRh ▪️Just two days after the release, Gray Zone Warfare sold 400 thousand copies. https://lnkd.in/du34Vxrr ▪️Little Kitty, Big City, a game about a kitten's adventures in the city, was bought 100 thousand times in 2 days. The game is also available on Game Pass. https://lnkd.in/djp44kDY ▪️The Polish team Donkey Crew announced that Bellwright sold 150 thousand copies in 12 days. The game was released in early access on Steam on April 23rd. https://lnkd.in/dy3UzJY8 📱Mobile games ▪️Sensor Tower reports that Summoner’s War has earned over $3 billion in revenue in the 10 years since its release. 30.4% of this amount came from the USA, and 18.1% from Japan. The game ranks 6th in the list of highest-grossing RPGs over the past 2 years. https://lnkd.in/dwbVHAbh ▪️Uma Musume Pretty Derby has earned $2.4 billion in three years, according to Sensor Tower. 90% of the revenue came from Japan. 78% of the audience are men. https://lnkd.in/dAsmj65c ▪️Squad Busters reached 30 million early registrations in 11 days. The company aimed to achieve this figure by the release on May 29th. https://t.ly/NQgW5 ▪️Over 100 million people played AFK Arena. Lilith Games shared this figure in celebration of the project's 5th anniversary. https://lnkd.in/d2akX2nP ▪️SHIFTUP, the creators of Goddess of Victory: Nikke, revealed that the project generated $750 million in revenue over 1.5 years. 61% of this amount came from Japan, 17% from the USA, and 14% from South Korea. https://t.ly/P-6cS

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Should you offer bonuses to casino players every day? Imagine this scenario: you walk into your favorite coffee shop for your usual delightful coffee. Upon ordering, you're pleasantly surprised when the barista hands you a croissant along with your coffee. You enjoy this unexpected treat and leave the shop feeling quite satisfied. As the day progresses, you find yourself visiting the coffee shop multiple times, and with each visit, you receive a croissant with your coffee. This becomes a daily ritual over the course of the week, stretching into the month. Eventually, the charm of the croissant fades. The delight you initially felt turns to indifference; you even start declining the croissant because you simply can't manage another bite. Then, one day, they offer you a cake with your coffee instead. But by now, the thought of more sweets only brings a sense of revulsion. You've had your fill of sweetness. This overindulgence mirrors the effect of constant #casino bonuses. Just like sweets, bonuses lose their appeal when they are no longer a novelty. Follow me for more 🦄

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China's gaming regulator, the NPPA, approved publishing licenses for 15 foreign video games on June 5th, according to SCMP. This brings the total number of approved foreign titles in 2024 to 61, compared to 98 in all of 2023. The list, available on the NPPA website, leans towards mobile titles but also includes console and PC games. Here are some highlights: 🕹 Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! 🕹 Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury 🕹 Ultraman Legend of Heroes 🕹 Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage 🕹 Valorant: Operation Primal 🕹 Black Desert Online 🕹 Samurai Shodown mobile 🕹 Railbound 🕹 For The King 🕹 Daemon X Machina 🕹 Dungeon Hunter 6 The most anticipated title is likely Valorant: Operation Primal, the upcoming mobile version of Riot Games' popular shooter. The NPPA approved the base game in December 2022 and greenlit the mobile version on June 5th. Valorant's PC version, launched in China last July, achieved considerable success, generating strong revenue for Tencent (Riot Games's parent company). While the mobile version's global release date remains unknown, its NPPA approval is a positive step. (source: https://lnkd.in/esr_Zf8D)

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Business of Games: The Best Theme for Your Hybrid-Casual Game (Pie-chart) % of Top 10 Hybrid-Casual Game Themes and Player Expectations Hybrid casual games featuring themes like Music, Hypercasual, and Combat Arena are leading the download charts. This trend demonstrates a clear preference among players for games that offer active input and engaging gameplay. It underscores the increasing demand for dynamic and interactive experiences requiring active player participation. #GameDevelopment #HybridCasualGames #GameTrends #MusicGames #Hypercasual #CombatArena #GamingIndustry #PlayerEngagement #gamingindustry #gamedesign #liveops #mobilemarketing #mobilegames #gamedevelopment #gamedev #userexperience #videogames #gaming #gamesur #useracquisition #growth #UA

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Dear Stretch Network Partners, Please allow me to inform you about additional changes that will take place in the global network on July 8. 🍀 All Heads-up tables will be removed 🍀 Badugi cash tables will be removed 🍀 Sonic cash tables will become 6-max 🍀 The minimum buy-in for Sonic Omaha cash tables will be 20 BB 🍀 Sonic Omaha 7 card cash tables will be added These changes apply only to cash tables and only to our Global Network. In your local networks, you decide your product strategy, but we would be happy to assist you in managing your local networks as well. If you need our help, please contact us. The above-mentioned changes are part of the new strategy for the Stretch Network Global Network, which prioritizes the comfort of novice players and casual traffic to maintain the proper balance of our ecosystem between amateurs and professionals. Caring for the ecosystem of the Global Network is our priority. The changes we are implementing now and will continue to implement will significantly improve the user experience for your players, extend their LTV, ARPU, and, of course, Revenue.

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⚡️ Gaming Insights from the reports of last week (June 24 - June 28) 1️⃣ Mobile users are not interested in AAA PC/Console games Thanks to the numbers provided by Appfigures & AppMagic, we see that mobile ports of AAA PC/Console titles do not perform. We're speaking of Resident Evil 4; RE: Village; Death Stranding & Assassin's Creed: Mirage. All of them are great games, but the best they've got is $212k in revenue and 10,6k copies sold (Death Stranding). What are the reasons? There are multiple reasons. First, the audience is very limited (iPhone 15 Pro users). Second, it feels, that people who would like to buy a $20-60 title on Mobile, also can afford a gaming PC or a console. Third, it's far from the best experience. However, we have seen cases when Premium PC titles performed well on Mobile. But most of them are session-based indie games. And for such titles, it makes sense to think of the Mobile version. 2️⃣ Steam is growing; 15% of users are using gamepads; users probably spent $19B on games they never played. There has been a lot of Steam news recently. Valve shared that the number of users that use gamepads increased from 5% (2018) to 15% (now). Xbox controller is the most popular one (59%). PCGamesN calculated that Steam users spent $19B on games they never launched. The calculation didn't take into account sales, and it's a big approximation, but still. Even if it's several billions - that's a huge amount of cash people might've spent differently. A beauty of the B2P business model, right? Last but not least - Steam is showing impressive growth numbers. It's been just shared at the latest Nordic Game. 3️⃣ Shadow of the Erdtree launched better than a lot of new games Stream Hatchet shared that Elden Ring's DLC had 46.2M hours watched in the first 4 days. It's more than monthly viewership on Twitch for Apex Legends or Call of Duty: Warzone. Impressive. The full list of reports is here: https://lnkd.in/dfdFVsKr

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🎮 SHIFTUP, the South Korean developer behind the acclaimed action game Stellar Blade, has made a record-breaking entrance onto the stock market! The Seoul-based company's initial public offering (IPO) soared nearly 50% on its first day of trading, raising a whopping 435 billion won ($320 million). This marks the largest IPO for a video game company in South Korea over the past three years. 📈 Shift Up's achievement is especially impressive considering it surpasses the $50 million mark, a feat not seen in the Korean gaming industry since PUBG developer KRAFTON Inc.'s $3.8 billion IPO in 2021. Overall, Shift Up's IPO stands as the second-largest in South Korea for 2024, only behind HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co.'s offering. Shift Up plans to leverage the IPO proceeds to diversify its game portfolio, paving the way for exciting new projects. Founded in 2013, the company boasts a strong foundation under Hyung-Tae Kim, its current largest shareholder, and with Tencent Holdings as the second-largest. Analysts cite Shift Up's proven track record, promising future prospects, and financial stability as key reasons for their success. Stellar Blade, released for PlayStation 5 earlier this year, has already achieved critical acclaim, selling over 1 million units worldwide and receiving praise for its exceptional combat mechanics. Shift Up's impressive IPO debut highlights the studio's potential and positions them for continued success in the ever-evolving gaming landscape. (source: https://lnkd.in/eZg5sZ52)

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🌊🌊🌊🌊Exciting times are upon us in the mobile gaming industry, bringing forth a wave of fresh opportunities to craft better, more immersive games with increased retention and higher LTVs - welcome to the era of the NEW HYPER! Yet, amidst all this innovation, one fundamental principle remains unchanged: the importance of simplicity. Here are some important considerations for developers and publishers aiming to create successful products: 1️⃣ Fun Factor: Fun is the beating heart of every successful game, driving engagement and retention. Games that only rely on great creatives won’t cut it anymore - they have to have enough depth and creativity (fun!) to engage players    2️⃣ Polished Art: In today's market, polished visuals of high fidelity are the new standard. Use art to enhance the player experience and elevate your game above the competition. 3️⃣ Masterful Level Design: Craft levels with an understanding of player psychology, while maintaining a delicate balance between FunXEconomic pressure points. Every level should be a journey, carefully designed to keep players coming back for more. 4️⃣ Long(ish)-term Vision and pockets:  Set clear lifetime value (LTV) goals for your projects from the outset, and meticulously plan your development cycles and resource allocation to achieve them. What's your #5 & #6? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below! If you’re ready to try out these for your next game, you’re in luck. We've just launched SuperSpring - another exciting contest focused on puzzles, simulations, and runners. Whether you have a fully-fledged game or just a brilliant idea, submit your concept and get exclusive resources and many perks I’m super excited to see your submissions! I love this time of year, it feels like my birthday every single day. Submit your game now :

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