Our colleagues from GameDev Reports picked the most exciting gaming reports from the previous week, covering "Lethal Company" as the indie success of the year, console and game sales in Europe in Nov'23, and gaming monetization in Asia and MENA regions:

— GameDev Reports: Lethal Company: The indie success of the year;
— GSD: Game sales in Europe declined, but console sales soared by 59% in Nov'23;
— Niko Partners: Five major video game monetization Models in Asia & MENA in 2023.

A weekly recap with a brief overview of the mentioned reports is available here.

Our colleagues from GameDev Reports picked the most exciting gaming reports from the previous week, covering the state of the PC games market in 2023, layoffs in the gaming industry for the previous year, and the top mobile games of Dec'23 by revenue and downloads:

— Video Game Insights: The state of the PC games (Steam) market in 2023;
— Game Industry Layoffs: 10,526 people lost their jobs in the gaming industry in 2023;
— AppMagic: Top Mobile games of Dec'23 by Revenue and Downloads.

A weekly recap with a brief overview of the mentioned reports is available here.

— Take-Two Interactive Software, a US-based game developer and publisher, has agreed to sell $350m in aggregate principal amount of senior notes;
— tinyBuild, a US-based game publisher and developer, has conditionally raised $12m through a combination of private placement, subscription, and placing offerings;
— GenPop Interactive, a US-based PC game developer, has raised $9.9m out of $10m in a funding round.

These three deals, along with six others, are covered in our latest Weekly News Digest.

Our colleagues from GameDev Reports picked the most exciting gaming reports from the previous week, covering a 2% growth in the UK gaming market in Dec'23, the top-10 mobile games in the US for the past year, and game catalogs on PC and gaming consoles in 2023:

— GSD & GfK: The UK gaming market grew by 2% in December;
— Sensor Tower: Top mobile games in the US by Revenue in 2023;
— TheGameDiscoverCo: Game Catalogs on PC and Gaming Consoles in 2023.

A weekly recap with a brief overview of the mentioned reports is available here.

— Second Dinner, a US-based games developer, has raised $100m in a Series B funding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners;
— Luma AI, a US-based technology firm, has closed a $43m Series B round, bringing its valuation between $200m and $300m;
— ArenaX Labs, a US-based web3 game developer, has attracted $6m in the recent funding.

These three, along with three more deals, were covered in our latest Weekly News Digest.

Our colleagues from GameDev Reports picked the most exciting gaming reports from the previous week, encompassing the state of the mobile gaming market, PC and console game sales in Europe for the last year, and highlights from the US video game market for December and the entire 2023:

— data.ai: Mobile Gaming Market in 2023 (State of Mobile 2024);
— GSD: European PC and Console Market in 2023;
— Circana: The US gaming market - December and 2023 Results.

A weekly recap with a brief overview of the mentioned reports is available here.

Our colleagues from GameDev Reports picked the most exciting gaming reports from the previous week, covering forecasts and gaming trends in 2024, the current state of the gaming industry, and a shift in the entertainment landscape in the UK:

— Newzoo: Forecasts and Gaming Trends for 2024;
— GDC & Game Developer: The State of the Gaming Industry in 2024;
— Video Games are no longer the largest entertainment segment in the UK.

A weekly recap with a brief overview of the mentioned reports is available here.

— TapNation, a France-based hyper/hybrid casual publisher, has acquired UAhero, a Turkey-based user acquisition firm, for an undisclosed sum.

— True Gamers, a Saudi Arabia-based esports lounge operator, has attracted $45m in a recent funding round.

— bHaptics, a South Korea-based XR tactile solutions provider, has raised ~$7.5m in a Series C funding round led by KB Investment, Korea Development Bank, and Hana Ventures.

Those, and three more deals, were covered in our latest Weekly News Digest.

Our colleagues from GameDev Reports picked the most exciting gaming reports from the previous week, covering the highest PlayStation sales in Japan in the last 14 years, Genshin Impact achieving the milestone of becoming the fastest title to reach $5B in global consumer spending, and critical challenges for British game studios in the year ahead:

— PlayStation sales in Japan in 2023 are the best in 14 years;
— data.ai: Genshin Impact became the fastest game in history to earn $5B on mobile devices
— TIGA: British game studios express cautious optimism about the 2024.

A weekly recap with a brief overview of the mentioned reports is available here.

— Nordcurrent, a Lithuania-based developer and publisher, has acquired Cinemaware’s games catalog from Starbreeze Entertainment, a Sweden-based developer and publisher, for an undisclosed sum;
— Pixelmon, a Singapore-based web3 games developer, has attracted $8m in a Seed funding round;
— Forgotten Playland, a Netherlands-based social party game developer, has raised $7m in a Seed funding round led by Merit Circle, Spartan Group, C2 Ventures, and Paper Ventures.

Those, and eight more deals, were covered in our latest Weekly News Digest.

Our colleagues from GameDev Reports picked the most exciting gaming reports from the previous week, covering game development trends in 2023, gaming investments for the last year, and top games in streaming from the prior year:

— Griffin Gaming Partners & Rendered.VC: Game Development Trends in 2023;
— Drake Star Partners: Gaming Investments in 2023;
— Lurkit: Top 500 games in streaming in 2023.

A weekly recap with a brief overview of the mentioned reports is available here.

The InvestGame team is pleased to present our Global Gaming Deals Activity Report for FY'23.

While the gaming investment landscape faced headwinds in 2023, with late-stage investments and M&A activities declining by approximately 2x times compared to the average of the previous three years, there are signs of stabilization and potential growth opportunities, especially in areas like AI and Early-stage gaming. The increasing influence of regulatory bodies and the evolving role of technologies are poised to shape the industry's future.

1. Deal-making activity in 2023 was characterized as relatively slow, with a notable decline in the number of closed deals and overall investment values, decreasing by over 50% compared to the heights of 2020-2022. The industry experienced turbulence with down rounds and shutdowns as studios struggled to perform in line with the high valuations of past funding rounds. Despite this, Seed funding for new studios remained strong, offering investors favorable entry terms.

2. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As): Although M&A activities decreased in 2023, with the total value of deals settling at approximately $9.5B, excluding the Microsoft-Activision $68.7B deal, positive signs are pointing towards a more vibrant M&A environment for the future, contingent on macroeconomic stabilization.

3. Public Offerings: Public offerings saw a moderate recovery in 2023, indicating a possible resurgence if market conditions improve, with a growth in value of about 16% year-on-year and deal count increased by 87%.

4. Early-Stage Gaming Investment: Over 25 new Early-stage gaming funds have appeared since 2020. Despite challenges such as inflated rounds, the gaming market remains attractive to investors, with competition leading to size increases of average funding rounds from $16m in 2020 to $21m in 2021 before stabilizing around $13m in 2023.

5. Late-Stage Gaming: Late-stage gaming companies faced challenges due to macroeconomic factors, leading to a downturn in activities. The total deal value in late-stage gaming decreased significantly, from $6.7B in the 2020-21 period to just $1.2B in the following years.

6. Corporate Gaming: There's been a shift from solo investments towards co-investments in Early-stage deals, aiming to mitigate risks and potentially open opportunities for M&A activities. Despite a notable decline in deal value in 2023, the deal count remains close to that of 2022.

7. AI in Gaming: AI technology continued to see a rise in deals, with a significant increase in transaction count in 2023 over the two previous years. GenAI is considered both a game-changer and a source of IP infringement concerns in the industry.

8. Platform & Tech: There was a decline in Platform & Tech deal volumes as investors focused on profitability and short-term outcomes, with AI startups showing growth. However, the number of AI-related tech startups increased, with 29 out of 82 Platform & Tech deals related to AI. Blockchain in gaming has become a more niche market after the investment boom, but it remains alive, with deal values in 2023 still 19.5 times higher than in 2020.

We thank MGVC and Taylor Wessing for their support of the Report.

Last year presented a challenging chapter for deal-making in the gaming sector, as revealed in our Global Gaming Deals Activity Report for FY '23 report. The pace of closed deals significantly waned, with a striking decline exceeding 50% in both deal count and investment volume, diverging from the surging activity of 2020-2022.

Although M&A activities decreased in 2023, with the total value of deals settling at approximately $9.5B, excluding the Microsoft-Activision deal, positive signs are pointing towards a more vibrant M&A environment for the future, contingent on macroeconomic stabilization. Please check our Global Gaming Deals Activity Report for FY '23 to find more.

Public offerings saw a moderate recovery in 2023, according to our Global Gaming Deals Activity Report for FY'23, indicating a possible resurgence if market conditions improve, with a growth in value of about 16% year-on-year and deal count increased by 87%.

— Jagex, a UK-based games publisher and developer, has been acquired by private equity and investment advisory firms CVC Capital Partners and Haveli Investments for a rumored sum of $1.1B;
— Kadokawa Corporation, a Japan-based media conglomerate, has acquired ACQUIRE, the developer behind the Octopath Traveler series, for an undisclosed sum;
— Epic Games, a US-based gaming company, has raised a $1.5B investment from The Walt Disney Company.

Those three, along with seven more deals, were covered in our latest Weekly News Digest.

Our Global Gaming Deals Activity Report for FY '23 shows that over 30 new Early-stage gaming funds have appeared since 2020. Despite challenges such as inflated rounds, the gaming market remains attractive to investors, with competition leading to size increases of average funding rounds from $16m in 2020 to $21m in 2021 before stabilizing around $13m in 2023.

Our colleagues from GameDev Reports picked the most exciting gaming reports from the previous week, covering the gaming audiences on Steam and PlayStation in 2024, the IP landscape in mobile games, and PC & console game sales in Europe in Jan'24:

— GameDiscoverCo: Where Steam and PlayStation audiences are in 2024;
— Sensor Tower: IP in Games Landscape Report;
— GSD & GfK: PC & console game sales in Europe in Jan'24 decreased by 7%.

A weekly recap with a brief overview of the mentioned reports is available here.

Late-stage gaming companies faced challenges due to macroeconomic factors, leading to a downturn in activities. The total deal value in late-stage gaming decreased significantly, from $6.7B in the 2020-21 period to just $1.2B in the following years. You can find more details regarding Private Investment activity in our Global Gaming Deals Activity Report for FY '23.

There's been a shift from solo investments towards co-investments in early-stage deals, aiming to mitigate risks and potentially open opportunities for M&A activities. Despite a notable decline in deal value in 2023, the deal count remains close to that of 2022, according to our Global Gaming Deals Activity Report for FY '23.