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Speaker Spotlight: Catalin Butnariu talks M&A going into 2023

Pocket Gamer Connects London is coming 23-24 January 2023. Time to meet some of the leading industry names that will be on stage at the event

Speaker Spotlight: Catalin Butnariu talks M&A going into 2023

The leading games industry conference is almost here. Pocket Gamer Connects London is now less than one week away and what a line up of speakers we’ve got in store for you.

On January 23rd and 24th Pocket Gamer Connects hits home soil, returning to London for two days of insight sharing, and contact making interspersed with our world famous thought-provoking panels, seminars, keynotes and more.

There's limitless networking opportunities and our expert sessions are your chance to get up close and meet some of the biggest names in mobile games in what will be our biggest and best PG Connects London yet!

In the build up to the conference – and to give you a sneak preview of what to expect – we are spotlighting some of the authorities in the games industry that will be sharing their wisdom, today we speak to Catalin Butnariu, Head of Corporate Development at Amber.

Catalin will be giving a talk on the intricacies of M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) going into 2023. Whilst the market may be cooling somewhat, Catalin will be offering his insights into what he believes may be an interesting year to come.

Be sure to join us at PG Connects London on January 23rd to 24th 2023 to find out more!

What is the single biggest challenge facing the mobile games industry today?

I think the mobile games industry, while still going strong, doesn't have a clear direction currently, especially in the context of reduced UA efficiency that we are seeing now. Large companies seem to be taking safe bets and genres which inherently allowed for innovation - such as hyper-casual - are suffering. As the market resettles, some companies will probably need to reinvent themselves.

What game has been on your phone the longest?

Hearthstone, which I've played for 8+ years and has outlasted multiple phones…

What is the most overhyped trend from the last 12 months - and why?

NFT gaming and play-to-earn. To be clear, I am not dismissing this models altogether, I actually think they are here to stay and will have lasting impact, but they are still in the very early stages and what we've seen in 2022, especially in the second half, unfortunately demonstrates that they were overhyped.

Can people get in touch with you at the event? What sort of people would you like to connect with?

Would love to get in touch with work-for-hire studios to discuss opportunities for collaboration and/or acquisition or investment. I can be found in Meet To Match or LinkedIn or at our company booth.

 

Find out more about Pocket Gamer Connects London and get your tickets right here!


Staff Writer

Iwan is a Cardiff-based freelance writer, who joined the Pocket Gamer Biz site fresh-faced from University before moving to the Pocketgamer.com editorial team in November of 2023.