News

Keywords snaps up predictive analytics outfit Yokozuna Data from Silicon Studio in $1.5m deal

Draws on AI and machine learning tech

Date Type Companies involved Size
July 23rd, 2018 acquisition Keywords Studios
Yokozuna Data
Not disclosed
Keywords snaps up predictive analytics outfit Yokozuna Data from Silicon Studio in $1.5m deal

Services provider giant Keywords Studios has acquired Japanese company Yokozuna Data and all of its tech from former owner Silicon Studio for $1.5 million.

The Tokyo-based outfit owns tools that draw on AI and machine learning tech to offer predictive analytics.

This has been used by companies such as NCSoft to understand player behaviour, such as when they’re likely to churn and whether they’ll make in-app purchases.

Keywords claims that its tech can be used to reduce player attrition, improve conversion rates, increase average spend and raised the lifetime value of players.

Japan rollout

After three years in development the tech is said to be ready for commercial release. Initially it will be rolled out to Japanese developers and publishers, though it may also be offered to non-games markets such as healthcare.

“We have been looking for opportunities to establish a foothold in the exciting area of video game analytics for a few years,” said Keywords CEO Andrew Day.

“This acquisition brings industry leading technology and capabilities to Keywords that we believe we can support, enhance and roll out to our clients thanks to the engineering, player research and video game specific data science skills we have within the business. While YD is pre-revenue, it is a rare asset and we expect the first clients to start implementing the software during 2018.

“As games continue to transition to a service model from a product model, the use of sophisticated analytics engines like this to automatically understand player behaviour and trigger real time decisions in-game will become increasingly valuable to our clients.

“The use of AI to constantly adapt the predictive models to changes that are made in the games, such as when new items, expansion packs and promotions are introduced, is critical to the future of the video games industry so we are delighted to have secured this leading-edge technology.

“We look forward to continuing the development of the YD solution set and bringing this capability to our clients around the world.”


Head of Content

Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.