Better Than Betting
Omada raises $7.5M for a sports game with a twist: tackling gambling addiction
Money isn’t spent or won on bets, providing a healthier alternative
Investment
Saudi stakes a $50 billion+ claim in the gaming world - Nintendo, Activision, EA & more
Move over Tencent, Savvy Games and the PIF are THE new market makers in the global games portfolio
Making Myths
Spectarium raises €5M in Seed Round to bolster personalised AI RPG Myths
Each player will have a unique experience by leveraging AI technology
Mythic Manoeuvres
Mythic Protocol raises $6.5M towards blockchain, collaboration and cross-platform ambitions
Founder Igor Tanzil wants to avoid the trap of "squandered" potential by "frenzied financialisation"
Dino Designs
Zynga, FunPlus and NetEase veterans receive $8M investment for NFT dinosaur game
New studio GamePhilos gets support from Xterio, Animoca Ventures, SevenX Ventures and Chain Hill Capital
Making A Metaverse
Animoca Brands raises $20 million towards a new metaverse project
Mocaverse will allow Moca ID collectors to build up loyalty points and more
Indian Increase
Nazara to expand after latest $49M investment
The Indian platform reaches $660M valuation thanks to latest investment from SBI Mutual Fund
Gaming Market
The gaming industry saw $1.2 billion in investments and M&A in 2023’s first quarter
It's not great news for mergers and acquisitions as investments hit their lowest point since 2018
Success In Funding
Play Ventures’ Fund I sees 1.5x return in less than four years
The fund has 20 titles in its portfolio
Investments And Acquisitions
Haveli Investments acquires minority share in Match Masters developer Candivore
The acquisition comes at a cost of $100 million
Stocks
Playtika investor confidence grows despite recent financials
Estimations of the company's stock have risen since their most recent financial release
Investment
Krafton commits to massive $150m investment in Indian startups
The deal indicates the company’s renewed commitment to what has been a turbulent market for them
Financials
Sony sees 6.8% drop in income for games but a rise in sales
Games income increased by 167bn yen despite other slim financial results
Investment
Japanese mobile entertainment company Mixi to invest $50m in Indian market
The money will be issues as part of their corporate venture capital
Investment
Studio Billion receives undisclosed investment in pre-series A bridge round
WePlay Ventures, Aura B4YO Fund and Lima Ventures make another major investment in the Turkish market
Funding
Zibra AI raises $500,000 from a16z Speedrun
The funding brings the company's total investment so far to $2.5 million
Artificial Intelligence
AI startup Inworld raises another $50 million for a $500 million valuation
The new investment follows the company’s work on AI-driven non-player character experiences
Indie Funding
Google opens applications for its latest Indie Games Fund
The tech giant will distribute $2 million to small studios in Latin America
Investment
GameStake Technologies raises £630,000 in seed funding for “rewarded play” gaming
The company is pursuing the “rewarded play” style of monetisation
Investment
New studio Closing Theory raises $2.3m investment
The studio was co-founded by two previous members of the company Macro
Success In Funding
Singapore’s Eyeball Games raised $1.5 million for blockchain pool game
The fund highlights Singapore’s growing place in the mobile gaming industry
Breakdown
Drake Star's Global Gaming Report: Breaking down the numbers, charts and more
What do Drake Star’s charts and graphs tell us about the gaming industry today?
Australian Investment
Screen Australia invests $3 million into gaming as part of the country’s digital entertainment goals
The fund sees 23 games with budgets below $500,000 receive fresh cash influxes
Investment
Drake Star's Gaming Index rises by 15% private financing worth $700m in Q2 2023
The firm points to major deals like the Activision Blizzard and Scopely acquisitions while noting a lower level of investment
Investment
Scalo leads $3.5m investment in publisher Hexacore
The publisher specialises in mobile Web3 games
Studio Shifts
Neopets dumps the metaverse and crypto as TNT goes mobile
The newly independent studio will be focusing on building a new game called “World of Neopets” for mobile
Investment
More Turkish investment as Fortune Mine Games closes $2m seed round
The move reflects a wide and varied amount of investment in Türkiye
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The PocketGamer.biz team tackles big money and two stories, about cancelled development and story innovation, from Develop: Brighton this time around...
Investment
Binance Labs commits $15 million to web3 games platform Xterio
The investment will see Xterio integrate AI and launch its token on the BNB chain ecosystem
Bring It On
Skill-based game developer Bring It On raises $4 million in seed funding
The company will invest the money in the creation of skill-based games
Scopely Acquisition
Savvy Games Group closes acquisition of Scopely
The acquisition highlights mobile’s place in Saudi Arabia’s games strategy
Konvoy Report
Venture Capital funding fell 38% in Q2 2023
Despite the decline, the gaming industry is on track to hit $201 billion this year
Studios
Plarium co-founder’s WhaleApp startup has raised $50 million and made $80m
Ilya Turpiashvili founded the company after selling Plarium to Aristocrat Leisure
Executive Moves
CEO of Nine66, Kadri Harma, to return to venture capital
Harma has been CEO since late 2021
Finding Funds
Mythical Games raises a further $37million, hitting a valuation of over $1billion
Investors include Animoca Brands, MoonPay and veterans from Activision Blizzard
Investment
Scriptic raises $5.7m in funding for AI-driven narrative mobile games
The round was led by perennial investor Bitkraft Ventures
Finding Funds
Pixion Games raises $5.5 million for Web3 RPG Fableborne
Investments come from Blizzard, Shima Capital and more
Series Surge
In-game Ads solution Anzu raises $48M in Series B funding
Funding round led by Emmis Corporation and supported by many new high-profile investors
Investment
SuperScale raises $5.4m in Series A funding round
The scaling firm raised €5 million as part of the funding
Documentation
Zynga, Playrix and Niantic were all potential entries on Microsoft’s shopping list
News comes as part of the revelation Microsoft considered buying Sega
Success In Funding
Animoca Brands subsidiary Anichess raises $1.5 million in seed round
The company is working on a decentralised chess game
Conference Round-up
Investment and AI: more highlights from GameExpo Summit
Our inaugural conference in the UAE revealed essential insights and perspective about the regional and global games industry (part II)
Investment
Flexion gains new shareholder in Alta Fox Capital
The Texan firm has invested an undisclosed amount in the publisher
Accelerating Diversity
Ten game makers named for the Wings Elevate 2023 accelerator program
The Netflix sponsored program features ten game makers all from gender diverse development teams
Investment Fund
Lumikai launches new $50m game fund backed by Supercell, Krafton and more
The fund focused on investing into early-stage game makers
Investment
Mobile fashion title Drest acquires £15m in new funding round
The mobile dress-up game has collaborated with numerous fashion brands
Investment
Turkish mobile startup Fuse Games receives $2m investment
The studio is making a big play of the use of artificial intelligence in the creation their games
Gaming Africa
Senegal sets up a new gaming hub
The country is aiming to become a focal point for West Africa’s gaming industry
Funding
Million Victories secures $6.5m in funding
The money came as part of a series A funding round
Funding
Turkish studio Spektra Games receives $1.25m investment
The funding round was co-led by Ludus Ventures and The Games Fund