TWIG 148
Lead

NEWS:

Notes
Kress

Miska
Supercell's Everdale: a Genre Definer or a Pretty-Looking Social Appointment System?

Seufert

Facebook Undercounted SKAdNetwork Conversions For iPhone 12 Users Since February


Adam



Uncovered:
  • Apple loosens rules for developers in major concession amid antitrust pressure

The crew:
  • Adam Telfer  - OUT
  • Mishka Katkoff
  • Eric Seufert
  • Eric Kress 

UPDATEs:

MK:
  •  China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a stringent social intervention that it said was needed to pull the plug on a growing addiction to what it once described as "spiritual opium".
  • limit under-18s to playing for one hour a day - 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. - on only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to the Xinhua state news agency. They can also play for an hour, at the same time, on public holidays.
  • good luck competing in Esports
  • in all seriousness, this is a major hit for gaming companies > West, brace for impact!
  • to some extent, I get it. Restrict not only games. Phones!

League of Legends’ world championships moved from China to Europe
  • The move happens just weeks before the competition is set to begin.
  • travel restrictions and COVID protocols made it a challenge to hold the event in China.
  • nothing to do with CCP regulations, though question is, how big is the gaming market going to be in 10 years if these regulations hold?


Netflix starts testing Android games for users in Poland
  • Starting today, members in Poland can try Netflix mobile gaming on Android with two games — Stranger Things 1984 and Stranger Things 3 — all as part of their membership
  • Use Netflix as a cross-promotion platform
  • I sold my Next Games stock. Seems like there’s going to be at least 3 Stranger Things games in addition to my worries of the Next Games’ puzzle RPG version’s ability to execute on the collection meta

Hero Wars maker Nexters goes public in SPAC at $1.9B valuation
  • Nexters’ public listing is also expected to support its aim to become the leading consolidator in the gaming space in Russian speaking countries, Eastern Europe, and beyond, capitalizing on the significant opportunity in the market while deploying its proven value creation playbook to support other companies and driving meaningful synergies over time.
  • Board has Playrix founders on
  • Hero Wars
  • Installs peaked in April > 5.5M a month to 2M
  • revenue steady 20M
  • for context: beating Scopely’s strikeforce who are at 16M
  • just 1M shy of Plarium’s Raid (who are big outside mobile)

Playtika acquires Reworks
  • Playtika has acquired 80% of Reworks for $400 million in cash. Playtika will purchase the remaining 20% of Reworks for up to $200 million, based on 2022 Company EBITDA 
  • In 18 months since its launch, Redecor has grown to become the #2 Design Entertainment app based on in-app purchase revenue
  • for context: