Blade Runner 2049 enters open beta, Candy Crush Saga makes $213m in Q2, and Peak partners with Ryan Reynolds
Finnish developer Next Games has a lot riding on its new games as it tries to expand its business.
It recently released location-based augmented reality game The Walking Dead: Our World, and now it’s launched mobile RPB Blade Runner 2049 into open beta on Android. The development became our hottest story of the week.
Second on our Hot Five is the news that Candy Crush Saga was the highest grossing game from a Western developer in Q2 2018. An impressive feat for a game first launched on mobile back in 2012.
Celebrities, acquisitions, and $1bn
Next up was the news that Peak Games has partnered with Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds on a series of ads as part of a performance marketing campaign for Toon Blast.
Elsewhere private equity group PAI Partners is in discussions to acquire board game company Asmodee in a $1.4 billion deal, and Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle has generated more than $1bn in revenue over two years.
#5: Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle amasses over $1 billion in revenue over two years
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Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle amasses over $1 billion in revenue over two years »Bandai Namco has earned plenty of superlatives in the mobile industry for how it’s managed the live ops on Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle.
According to Sensor Tower, that work has now led to the game generating more than $1 billion in revenue in just two years.
Around 60 per cent of the game’s audience is said to come from Japan, while 20 per cent is based in the US.
The news comes as it was reported that Bandai Namco’s new title Dragon Ball Legends racked up $40 million in just over a month after launch.
#4: PAI Partners in talks to buy Catan maker Asmodee for $1.4 billion
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PAI Partners in talks to buy Catan maker Asmodee for $1.4 billion »Private equity group PAI Partners is in talks to acquire board game company Asmodee in a $1.4 billion deal from own Eurazeo.
The company owns top brands such as Catan, Ticket to Ride and Takenoko.
It also publishes digital versions of many of its top board games across platforms including mobile, PC and virtual reality.
Last year revenues at the company reached €442 million.
#3: Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds partners with Peak Games for Toon Blast performance marketing campaign
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Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds partners with Peak Games for Toon Blast performance marketing campaign »Whether celebrity partnerships are ultimately worthwhile or not is an open question, there are certainly successes and failures.
But hot off the back of the success of Toy Blast and Toon Blast, Turkish developer Peak Games has partnered with Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds on a performance marketing campaign for the latter title.
The company claims this is the “first time in advertising history” that a celebrity/brand partnership will be used specifically for this kind of marketing.
A variety of ads have been filmed - 30 unique versions in fact - that will be tailored over time to create a campaign that evolves to “find the right match between creative and audience”.
#2: Candy Crush Saga the highest grossing Western-developed mobile game in Q2 2018
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Candy Crush Saga the highest grossing Western-developed mobile game in Q2 2018 »King’s Candy Crush Saga has been a stalwart of the top grossing charts on mobile for years now.
It’s still competing with the biggest titles to this day, even going from strength to strength thanks to a new focus on live operations and events.
According to Sensor Tower, the match-three game was the highest grossing mobile title from a Western developer for the three months ending June 30th 2018.
In just that quarter alone, App Store and Google Play users were said to have spent around $213 million - an increase of 18 per cent year-on-year.
#1: Next Games’ mobile RPG Blade Runner 2049 hits open beta
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Next Games’ mobile RPG Blade Runner 2049 hits open beta »Next Games has released two games based on the hit Walking Dead IP and now it has its eyes on another franchise.
It’s developing a new sci-fi mobile RPG based on the film Blade Runner 2049 - sequel to the 1982 cult classic.
The mobile game of the same name is now in open beta on Android.
It follows on from the recent launch of The Walking Dead: Our World and will be a key release for a public company looking to expand over the next year.