3 Game industry report: domestic revenue of 59.703 billion yuan mobile games underperform
Gamma Data released the “Game Industry Report for the Third Quarter (July-September) of 2022”.
From July to September 2022, the actual sales revenue of China’s game market was 59.703 billion yuan, a month-on-month decrease of 12.61% and a year-on-year decrease of 19.13%. Among them, the actual sales revenue of the mobile game market was 41.643 billion yuan, and the quarter-on-quarter decline was slightly smaller than that of the previous quarter, which was the main reason for the continued double decline in the market. The actual sales revenue of the client game market reached 15.565 billion yuan, with a slight increase both month-on-month and year-on-year.
In addition, the actual sales revenue of China’s self-developed games overseas market was 4.262 billion US dollars, down 3.91% from the previous month, showing a downward trend for four consecutive quarters.
TOP10 of the world’s most popular mobile game revenue list in September 2022
Sensor Tower store intelligence data shows that in September 2022, global mobile game players paid $6.2 billion in the App Store and Google Play, down 14% year-on-year. The U.S. remains the highest-grossing market for mobile gaming in the world, contributing $1.78 billion, or 28.7% of the global total. The Japanese market ranked second, accounting for 18.5%; the Chinese iOS market ranked third, accounting for 17.1%. The TOP10 list of the world’s most popular mobile game revenue is as follows:
In September 2022, Tencent’s “Honor of Kings” has attracted nearly 190 million US dollars in the global App Store and Google Play, ranking first in the global mobile game bestseller list. Revenue from the Chinese iOS market accounted for 94.5%, and revenue from overseas markets accounted for 5.5%.
Another batch of special development fund support projects in Shanghai announced involving more than 20 game companies
Recently, the Shanghai Office of Promoting the Construction of Science and Technology Innovation Center issued an announcement to publicize 2,579 key projects of special development funds for the Zhangjiang National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone. According to statistics, at least 20 game companies are involved in all projects, including Taomi, Mihayou, Lily Silk, Guangyan Network, Junmeng Network, Yuefu Interactive Entertainment, NetEase subsidiary and many other game company projects.
Previously, in the list of the first batch of projects to be supported in the “2022 Shanghai Municipal Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industry Development Fiscal Support Fund Project Review Work” announced by the Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industry Promotion Leading Group Office at the end of September, it also involved 17 game industry-related projects. .
Sanqi Interactive Entertainment invests in brain-computer interface company
It is reported that South China Brain Control (Guangdong) Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. has received a new round of investment. The investors are Sanqi Lexin (Guangzhou) Industrial Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), two investment institutions under Sanqi Interactive Entertainment, and Wuhu Taitong Commercial Operation Management Co., Ltd.
Huanan Brain Control now has EEG signal acquisition technology, brain information decoding technology, multi-modal brain-computer interaction technology and application-oriented brain-computer AI technology, which can be integrated into other functional products by empowering brain-computer AI technology solution.
Riot acquires World of Tanks developer’s Sydney studio to help develop LOL
Recently, according to foreign media The Verge, “League of Legends” developer Riot Games announced the acquisition of Wargaming Sydney studio under Wargaming. The purchase price has not been announced.
Wargaming Sydney is one of the largest game studios in Australia. It was established in 2002, formerly known as BigWorld. After being acquired by Wargaming in 2012, it has applied related technologies to more than 30 games such as World of Tanks and World of Warships.
After being acquired by Riot Games, Wargaming Sydney will be renamed Riot Sydney and assist in the development of games such as “League of Legends” Valorant. Riot Games president Marc Merrill said the years of experience working with Riot’s Sydney studio development lead and studio team have strengthened Riot’s ability to provide value to players.
Former Riot employee’s new studio Odyssey raises $19 million in Series A funding
Indie game studio Odyssey Interactive has raised $19 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Makers Fund, with participation from Anthos Capital, Andreesen Horowitz and Mitch Lasky.
Odyssey Interactive was founded in 2020 by former Riot Games employees Dax Andrus, David Capurro, Eric Lawless and Richard Henkel. The group has worked together on games such as League of Legends and TFT.
The studio’s first title, Omega Strikers, is a free-to-play 3v3 action ball game that will launch on consoles and mobile devices in February 2023, and is currently in open beta on PC.
EA Sports to invest $11 million in women’s soccer
EA Sports has announced that it will invest $11 million in women’s soccer through the Starting XI Fund. The plan is to grow the sport as it will fund investments in games, leagues, clubs and athletes. The gaming company said it will also invest in a women’s soccer internship program next year that will expand to every current and new women’s league partner.
EA Sports also announced a multi-year partnership with the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL). , UWCL will appear in FIFA 23 next year, and the game will also include clubs such as Juventus Women, Real Madrid Women and Chelsea Women.
In addition, EA Sports has a multi-year sponsorship partnership with streaming platform DAZN, which will make it the global broadcast partner of the UEFA Women’s Champions League starting in March 2023.
The Steam version of “Phantom Tower” is online
The two-dimensional open-world game “Phantom Tower” developed by Perfect World and published by Tencent Level Infinite was launched on the Steam platform on October 20. The Steam version of “Magic Tower” does not support Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and is locked in the country, currently only for overseas markets. The game also does not support Steam friends and achievements, and is still in development.
Genshin Impact launches new project with Danish animation company
Following the announcement of a long-term project with the UFO Club, Genshin Impact has launched an animated short-story project “Mond’s Scenery Collection”, produced by the Danish animation production company Sun Creature.
Microsoft will build an Xbox mobile game store to challenge Apple and Google
According to reports, Microsoft will create an Xbox mobile game store to provide games on mobile devices, challenging Apple and Google. In a filing with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Microsoft revealed details of the plan.
A big motivation for the Activision Blizzard acquisition was to help expand its mobile gaming business. The deal will improve Microsoft’s ability to create a next-generation gaming store that will operate on a range of devices, including mobile, with the addition of Activision Blizzard content. Building on Activision Blizzard’s existing player community, Xbox will seek to expand the Xbox Store to mobile devices, attracting players to the new Xbox mobile platform. Microsoft also said that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard also took a fancy to the powerful ability of mobile games in terms of profitability, and the statement said the deal made Microsoft meaningful in the field of mobile games.
In addition, to attract third-party game developers, Microsoft has committed to a set of principles that allow developers to freely run their own app stores on its Xbox mobile platform and offer their own payment systems to process in-app purchases without a mandatory cut , which is not possible on both Apple and Google’s platforms.
The new NFT game Superior will be listed on Steam or violated by Valve, and there is no limit for now
Recently, the new NFT game Superior published by Gala Games, a blockchain game platform, has been listed on Steam and is scheduled to be released within this year.
Superior has been clearly identified as a game involving NFT character transactions, while the Steam platform regulations prohibit cryptocurrency or NFT-type game merchants. However, the game has not been taken off the shelves at present, and neither the publisher nor Valve has responded positively.
Activision files for multiplayer patent: Let players hear AI-generated dynamic music
Recently, foreign media Exputer found that Activision Blizzard applied for a new patent for implementing a unique AI-generated in-game soundtrack in multiplayer games, dedicated to exploring “the idea of dynamically generating music based on game events, player profiles, and player responses.”
In multiplayer games, the AI will be able to create a unique soundtrack that matches the player’s game environment, choices and progression, rather than a preset dynamic soundtrack, according to the patent description. To take into account the player’s current skill level, game situation, game experience, and many other factors, systems and methods are also required to correlate the generated and modulated music with the player’s success or failure during gameplay, and to use this correlation to Improve player performance in future games.
Activision Blizzard claims this improves immersion and provides players with a variety of customizable features to enhance the overall user experience.
EA’s new batch of games is about to stop network service
Due to the large decrease in the number of game players, following the decision at the beginning of the month of “Battlefield Two Heroes”, “Mercenary 2” and “Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3” and other games to stop the network function in November, recently, EA officially announced the “Mirror of the Mirror”. The Edge, NBA Carnival: Hot Edition, Grimm 2, and Flash 2 will stop their in-game network functionality on January 19, 2023.
EA officials said that they are committed to continuously updating and improving the functions and modes in the game to ensure that they can attract players for as long as possible. The pursuit of excellent gameplay sometimes means the need to delete outdated functions and modes.
Rumor: Sony delays game launch event to stop Microsoft from buying Activision
According to game industry analyst Millie A, Sony has delayed any plans for a “PlayStion Showcase” due to the ongoing CMA (UK Market Competition Authority) investigation into Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard (the first wave of approvals failed), exclusive games And first-party IP are “locked”, including the new “Silent Hill” and Hideo Kojima’s new work Who Am I, so as not to increase the weight of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard’s argument.
Before CMA’s new report on October 14 believed that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard would affect Sony’s ability to compete with Microsoft, the CEO of SIE went to the European Competition Authority headquarters in September to express to them that Microsoft would Concerns about the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft will cooperate with Meta to work interactively and play games in VR space
Recently, Meta and IT giant Microsoft have reached a strategic cooperation. This time, Microsoft will fully support Meta’s Meta Quest headset. The systems that have been confirmed to follow include Microsoft’s Mesh for Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 software system. The cloud game Xbox Cloud Gaming is also being launched. Actively promote the installation into the Meta Quest Store.
With the cooperation in progress, users can not only work and interact in the VR virtual world of Meta’s Meta Quest headset in the future, but also jump to netizens to directly play many games under Microsoft
Netflix Discovery Cloud Games Teams Up With Former Overwatch Exec To Build New Studio
According to Mike Verdu, vice president of Netflix Games, the company is currently “seriously exploring” its own cloud gaming product.
He said at the TechCrunch Disrupt event last week that the company sees the technology as a “value-add” for users, a completely different business model from consoles. When it comes to the massive failure of Google’s cloud gaming service Stadia, which will be discontinued in January 2023, Verdu noted that while Stadia is “technically successful” and “happy to play games,” “its business model There are some problems.”
On TechCrunch Disrupt, Verdu also confirmed that Netflix will open a new in-house game development studio in Southern California. The studio will be led by former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny.
Netflix is currently working on 55 different games
Netflix said in an investor letter on Tuesday that 55 games are currently in development, including other titles based on Netflix’s IP. Netflix didn’t say whether the games in development were made specifically for phones, which could indicate the company will release new games that aren’t limited to phones.
In addition, the company plans to crack down on password sharing beginning early next year, and will launch a cheaper ad-supported plan in November due to lost subscriptions.
Microsoft lays off nearly 1,000 people worldwide, involving multiple departments such as Xbox
According to Business Insider’s report on October 18, Microsoft has made layoffs across the company. Nearly 1,000 employees were affected. In addition, the layoffs were extensive, involving departments such as Xbox, strategic missions and technical organizations.
In July, Microsoft said it planned to cut less than 1% of its 180,000 employees and slowed hiring sharply, given the risk of a recession. The layoffs are largely due to the company’s realignment of business units and roles after the fiscal year ended June 30. Microsoft previously said it planned to continue hiring for other positions and increase headcount by the end of the fiscal year.
UK regulator seeks public comment on Activision Blizzard takeover
UK regulators have now begun soliciting public comments on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a post on the government’s website explaining its second phase of the investigation, saying everyone could now have their say on whether the deal should go through. The CMA recently released its issues statement, listing what it considers to be potential concerns “injury issues”, including the impact of the merger on other console gaming platforms, the impact on gaming subscription services that compete with XGP, and the impact on the future of cloud gaming.
After analyzing the evidence, the CMA will give its provisional findings. The agency plans to release content in January, when the public will again be invited to share their views. If no competition issues are identified, the acquisition can proceed as planned, the CMA said. If competition issues are indeed identified, the agency decides how to address them. For example, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, including some or all of its businesses, is prohibited.
Konami will work with global teams to launch more “Silent Hill” series in the future
After years of silence, Konami has finally revealed what’s next for the Silent Hill franchise, announcing a number of new games, including: Silent Hill 2: Remastered, Silent Hill F, Silent Hill: Townfall and Silent Hill Ascension. According to current “Silent Hill” producer Okamoto Ki, Konami also plans to continue releasing new “Silent Hill” games.
In addition, Okamoto also said that he will cooperate with global teams in the future.
YouTube appoints new head of gaming division
YouTube Gaming has appointed a new head of Leo Olebe, a position that had been vacant for about eight months.
Olebe will now report to Tara Walpert Levy, vice president of YouTube Americas. Leo Olebe had previously worked at Facebook for gaming partnerships before moving to Google as an executive in gaming partnerships. Earlier, Olebe also worked at EA and Zynga.
Valve will update regional pricing recommendations more frequently to make it easier for manufacturers to set prices
The Steamworks documentation was recently updated with the “Regional Pricing Recommendations” section. Valve stated that they will update their regional pricing recommendations more frequently to account for large short-term changes in the corresponding game prices due to currency exchange rates in many regions.
Game prices will be based on U.S. dollars and will be adjusted at the developer’s discretion (or regardless of any adjustment). Valve has also deployed different pricing strategies, ranging from exchange rate conversions to more complex ones based on the purchasing power of consumers in different countries and regions.
In addition to frequently updating pricing recommendations, Valve hopes these algorithms will ease the burden on manufacturers to set prices, helping developers who don’t have the time or interest to research pricing strategies in different currencies.
For the first time in the series, “Pokémon: Zhu/Purple” will set clothing and hairstyles regardless of gender
In “Pokémon: Zhu/Zi”, a media preview version has been released. According to foreign media reports, during the trial play: “The staff told me that all customization options are open to all players at any time. Players need to first Choose from 8 basic types instead of gender and then customize.”
This means that “Pokémon: Zhu/Zi” will be the first Pokémon game with no gender restrictions in clothing and hairstyles.
The Sims apologizes to players for lack of work from black creators
On October 19th, EA’s “The Sims” Summit showcased the new “Project Rene” news of “The Sims” and the playable content of “The Sims 4”. After the summit, the co-founder of Black Twitch in the UK noted that it was disappointing that the summit’s creator work featured work by only one black creator.
In response to this, The Sims official tweeted in response, acknowledging that the creator showcase session of this summit failed to fairly represent the huge player base, and they will be responsible for this mistake and strive to do better.
Naughty Dog: Present and Future Games Coming to PC
Naughty Dog made its debut on PC, and its work Uncharted: A Rogue Legacy Collection has landed on Steam and Epic, and The Last of Us Part 1 is being ported to the PC platform.
Naughty Dog intends to port more games to PC. On the PlayStation Blog, Naughty Dog said the partnership with Iron Galaxy Studios allows them to “envision the future of Naughty Dog games on PC more excited than ever”. It also added that PC development will not affect the studio’s focus on developing PlayStation games.
The number of simultaneous online users on the Steam platform has exceeded 30 million, and CSGO is the most popular game
Recently, according to Steam DB statistics, the number of online players on the Steam platform has exceeded 30 million, setting a new historical record. CSGO is currently the hottest game on the Steam platform, ranking first on both the best-selling and hottest lists. .
Steam weekly sales list: Steam Deck handheld 21st consecutive year, COD19 ranked second
Steam announced the sales list from October 17th to October 23rd. The Steam Deck, a handheld console of Valve Corporation, has dominated the list for 20 consecutive weeks, and COD19, which unlocks the campaign mode for pre-order players in advance, occupies the second place on the list. The third is the JRPG Persona 5: Royal Edition, which recently landed on the PC platform.
List details:
1) Steam Deck
2) “Call of Duty 19: Modern Warfare 2”
3) Persona 5: Royal Edition
4) “Call of Duty 19: Modern Warfare 2”
5) “Ring the World” “Biotechnology” DLC
6) “Football Manager 2023”
7) “Uncharted: A Rogue Legacy Collection”
8) Gotham Knights
9) “Red Dead Redemption 2”
10) Gotham Knights Bundle