Weekly News Digest #51

Hi all,

With the year closing, we’re thrilled to present the final edition of our 2024 Weekly Digest and share that we’re already hard at work on the upcoming 2024 Global Gaming Deals Report.

This year, we published 52 digests, covered nearly 600 deals, and surpassed the incredible milestone of 9,000 subscribers. Your continued support and engagement inspire us to create new content week after week, and we look forward to achieving even more milestones together.

As the holiday season approaches, we wish you a festive and relaxing time with your loved ones. May the new year bring exciting opportunities and achievements into your life. Thank you for being part of our journey, and happy holidays from all of us at InvestGame!

In the meantime, don’t miss the “Notable Transactions” section below for a roundup of last week’s notable deals.

We thank MY.GAMES and Xsolla for supporting this digest.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Japan-based corporation Sony Interactive Entertainment (TYO: 6758; NYSE: SONY) has agreed with Japan-based multimedia company Kadokawa Corporation to purchase 12 million new shares for $318.5m by the beginning of Jan’25. With this acquisition, Sony became Kadokawa’s largest shareholder with 10% ownership. Kadokawa Corporation owns FromSoftware, the developer of acclaimed titles such as Elden Ring and Dark Souls series. Despite rumors of a full control by Sony, this deal focuses on collaboration in content creation, with no immediate plans for Sony to pursue a full takeover of the company. Sony Interactive previously acquired 1.9% of Kadokawa in Feb’21.

India-based esports firm Nodwin Gaming, a subsidiary of mobile game publisher Nazara Technologies (NSE: NAZARA), has acquired a 93% stake in India-based esports media company AFK Gaming for $890k (Rs 7.58 crore). The deal comprises 61% cash and 39% stock swap, making AFK Gaming a wholly owned subsidiary of Nodwin Gaming. The acquisition aims to enhance Nodwin Gaming’s esports-related content production, distribution, and marketing capabilities. Nodwin previously held a 7% stake in AFK Gaming, which was acquired in 2017. This acquisition continues Nazara’s recent investment spree after its $100m preferential share issue, and Nazara invested $7.5m in Nodwin Gaming in Dec’24.

VENTURE FINANCING

Israel-based AI research company Decart has raised $32m in a Series A funding round led by Benchmark, with participation from Sequoia and Zeev Ventures. This round increases the company’s valuation to $500m, up from $100m following its previous $21m funding round. Decart operates as an AI research laboratory that develops consumer and enterprise products. On the consumer side, the company has created a generative AI “world model” with a Minecraft-like foundation that is playable directly in a browser. Decart has developed a proprietary GPU optimizer to enhance enterprise users’ computational efficiency.

Turkey-based mobile games developer Agave Games has secured $18m in a Series A funding round co-led by Felix Capital and Balderton Capital, with participation from E2VC. The funds will be used to expand the team, improve the company’s puzzle title, Find the Cat, and support the development of new games. This round brings Agave Games’ total funding to $25m, valuing the company at around $100m post-money. The studio’s Find the Cat title achieved 10 million downloads within a quarter of its release. Agave Games is currently developing two new titles slated for release in 2025.

Finland-based gaming browser Ray Browser has raised $6.5m in a funding round led by Play Ventures, with participation from Samsung Next, Spatial Capital, FOV Ventures, and a16z SPEEDRUN. The funds will be used to establish new partnerships, expand the workforce, and implement additional features in the browser. Ray Browser is developing its proprietary browser, which allows users to play web-based games.

US-based games developer Moon Beast Productions has raised $4.5m in a Seed funding round led by 1AM Gaming, with participation from 1UP Ventures, The Mini Fund, Overwolf, Versus Ventures, and other investors. The funds will be used to develop the studio’s debut yet-to-be-revealed action RPG title. Moon Beast Productions was founded by industry veterans from Blizzard Entertainment.

US-based tech company Simulation Theory has raised $2m in a pre-Seed funding round from angel investors. The funds will be used to develop the company’s core product—a software development kit (SDK) that helps users optimize computational resources and reduce hardware capital expenditures. Founded by game industry veterans, Simulation Theory’s SDK is designed for cross-industry applications, including gaming. For instance, it can enhance performance in split-screen games by efficiently managing hardware resources.

US-based AI game tech company Coplay has raised $1.2m in a pre-Seed funding round led by Failup Ventures. Other investors participated, including Tower Research Ventures, Founders Inc., Sequoia Scouts, and others. Coplay is developing AI-powered tools to streamline game development processes and reduce repetitive tasks associated with the Unity game engine. The company’s product is currently in closed beta and is already being used by over 400 game developers across 22 studios.

UK-based video game developer and publisher Ripstone has secured a $750k (£600k) loan from NatWest to support the development of new titles. This marks the first loan in the UK gaming sector collateralized by IP. As part of the agreement, NatWest has assigned a dedicated technology relationship director to support Ripstone. The studio, known for its mobile Chess game inspired by the Queen’s Gambit TV series, has developed 21 titles.

PUBLIC OFFERINGS

Sweden-based mobile-focused games developer and publisher Stillfront Group (OM: SF) has secured a $227m unsecured revolving credit facility backed by DNB Bank ASA, Nordea Bank Abp, and Swedbank AB. The facility has a maturity date of Jun’27 and replaces the company’s $340m facility from Dec’20, offering more cost-effective financing options. This marks Stillfront’s second fixed-income activity in Q4’24, following its $77.3m bond issuance in Nov’24. These investment facilities follow the company’s restructuring announced earlier this year.

Sweden-based gaming group Aonic has raised $157m (€152m) in a funding round, with $105m (€100m) contributed by Metric Capital Partners and $55m (€52m) provided as an equity infusion via converting shareholder loan from Active Ownership. The funds will support group development and drive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. According to the company’s press release, Aonic, which now includes 12 companies, reported a 73% increase in total revenue during 2024.

FUNDRAISING

US-based web3 games developer Big Time Studios has announced the launch of the $150m Open Loot Fund. The fund will provide financial, development, and marketing support to game studios to accelerate growth for the company’s Open Loot web3 gaming platform. The Open Loot platform currently has 1.5 million registered users. The fund’s investments are reinvested from the company’s RPG title, Big Time, which has achieved a marketplace volume of $443m in 2024.

Israel-based gaming-focused venture capital fund vgames has raised $142m for its third fund. The first two funds — a $60m initial raise in March 2020 and a $141m second fund in December 2021 — established vgames as one of the leading investors in the gaming industry. This third fund further solidifies its position at the forefront of gaming and gaming-related investments. Learn more in our recent article.